These tests are often experienced by the examinee as short intellectual “puzzles.” Some cognitive subtests involve testing non-verbal skills like visuo-spatial reasoning, and some are meant to evaluate verbal reasoning (e.g., vocabulary and verbal abstraction abilities). These tools may also assess how well an examinee can maintain attention and inhibit their impulses when told to do so. Further, different sensory modalities like auditory, visual, and motor skills are commonly tested. Ultimately, the cognitive testing process can help diagnose the presence of clinical conditions such as dyslexia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
When undergoing a full psychological test battery, it should always include a clinical evaluation of a person’s emotional functioning. These evaluations involve an examinee being given statistically reliable and validated measures of mood, anxiety, and thought process. It is vitally important to assess an individual’s functioning across these domains to ascertain how potentially diagnosable conditions may be impacting one’s life functioning. Typical syndromes diagnosed with these tests include major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder.
The psychological testing process starts with a virtual clinical interview that can take up to an hour (for children, an interview is first conducted with parents and one with the child when they are undergoing testing). This testing process usually takes from 4 to 7 hours and can vary depending on the number of tests given and personal factors relevant to a given client (e.g., depressed examinees often process information slower and need more frequent breaks). On a client’s test day, the psychological tests will be administered by a professional known as a psychometrist, an individual trained in the administration and scoring of cognitive, academic, emotional, and personality assessments. After testing is complete, a psychologist will analyze and interpret the test data and the client (or their parents if a child was tested) will be provided virtual feedback followed by the composition of a test report that can be given to various professionals (e.g., psychiatrists, therapists, school learning specialists, college disability offices, and high stakes test companies to acquire accommodations).
If you are wondering if your child has an attention, learning, or emotional issue that could be affecting their functioning across social, academic, and family domains, we strongly recommend a psychological test battery by a qualified licensed psychologist. At Bryce Gibbs PhD & Associates, we can meet all your psychological testing needs quickly and effectively. Further, once testing is complete, we have in-house therapists if counseling is warranted, and a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who can meet any pharmaceutical needs.
1717 West Ave.
Austin, TX 78701
1-512-368-8609
intake@brycegibbsphd.com
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