Assessment and Evaluation
At TheraThrive, our assessment process is tailored to each individual to help bring clarity to a complex presentation. Assessment can be for adults or children, ages 5 and up, depending upon the needs and situation.
How Our Evaluation Process Stands Out
We view psychological evaluations as an opportunity to identify and answer specific questions and concerns, as well as a means for therapeutic understanding and connection.
Our assessors are experienced assessment specialists that offer extraordinary services, specifically tailored for you, your child and/or family.
Our assessment is focused on gaining information and clarity on your specific presentation in order to shed light on how you view yourself (or your child), your experiences in life, and the way in which you navigate the world. Assessment can also deepen self-understanding, growth and well-being.
- Our values guide the evaluation process from start to finish.
- We begin by identifying together your goals and hopes for the evaluation.
- We develop a proposed protocol, timeline, and estimate for the evaluation.
- We value collaboration, curiosity, and the context in which your child and family live.
- We remain connected with you, your child and/or family throughout the evaluation.
- We discuss the process and procedures throughout the evaluation.
- We identify strengths, gifts, and successes specific to you or your child, while also exploring areas for growth and support.
- We plan for how to integrate and utilize the results of the evaluation to continue on the path to success through child and family specific recommendations, referrals, and next-steps.
- You may choose to receive a comprehensive and meaningful report, scrupulously written specifically for you, your family, and/or school, or you may choose to receive a diagnostic note that contains a full list of recommendations.
- We offer an add-on summary report specifically for your child and/or teen.
- We discuss and make meaning of the results together, in a comprehensive feedback session.
Reparative Assessment
At TheraThrive we offer reparative assessment as part of our assessment services. Reparative assessment is often sought out when someone has had a challenging, difficult, and/or even potentially traumatizing assessment experience in the past, where they felt dismissed and/or unheard. Sadly, this can happen often and we are here to help you recover from such an experience.
From the moment we meet with you, we want to learn more about you, your life, your strengths and your struggles. We include you along the way when determining the best tests to utilize and symptoms to focus on. We offer a collaborative feedback session as well, to ensure that we communicate our findings to you and what these findings then mean. Our goal is to help you discover more about yourself, your mental health, and to leave here feeling heard and acknowledged.
Collaborative Assessment
At TheraThrive, we provide collaborative assessment, which involves a process of working together with you and with your support system. We take into account and do our best to accommodate your unique needs and challenges.
Our assessors also collaboratively clinically with one another. Instead of a single professional conducting the assessment, a collaborative approach may involve two or more clinicians with different areas of expertise contributing to the evaluation. The different professionals involved will review the results of these assessments and share their insights with each other to develop a comprehensive understanding of your functioning.
The collaborative approach allows for a more thorough assessment that takes into account all aspects of your psychological well-being. By working with a team of professionals, you can benefit from their different perspectives and areas of expertise, leading to a more accurate and tailored treatment plan.
What We Test
- Giftedness, including HG, EG, PG (all ages)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Executive Functioning
- Learning Differences and Disabilities
- Anxiety
- Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Depression
Evaluation Services
- Comprehensive psychological evaluation and assessment
- Repairative assessment
- Collaborative assessment
- Provide second opinions and/or review previous psychological evaluations and testing
- Identify strengths, gifts, successes specific to you or your child, while also exploring areas for growth and support
- Create and support with recommendations and referrals
An evaluation process may consist of one assessment test or several, depending upon your situation and the type of concerns, challenges or questions you have. If more than one test is utilized, it might be called a comprehensive assessment, battery assessment, or comprehensive evaluation.
What to Expect: The Evaluation Process
At TheraThrive, we understand that our clients may be highly sensitive, intense and/or experience some anticipation or anxiety around the testing process. We will do our best to welcome you, offer a comfortable environment for testing, and offer breaks as needed.
The process of evaluation will depend upon the specific goals and assessment tests utilized. The steps in an evaluation process typically include:
1. You contact us to let us know you would like to connect.
2. We meet with you for a complimentary 15 minute consultation call.
3. We send you a testing plan and rough cost estimate, explaining each step.
4. We schedule our first meeting, which is often a clinical interview.
5. You complete online documentation, which includes an informational intake form.
6. First meeting for teens and adults: This initial meeting is usually 50-100 minutes, although it may be longer or shorter in some situations.
7. First meeting for children: We will typically meet with parents for an initial meeting that lasts 50-100 minutes. If needed, we will meet with your child for a 50 minute qualitative diagnostic session prior to testing.
8. The testing/assessment process typically takes between 3 to 20 hours, depending upon the type of evaluation. Some assessments may take a bit longer
The testing meetings will likely be broken up into several sessions. During the assessment process, you may be asked to participate in a variety of assessments, such as interviews, questionnaires, and standardized tests. Some testing may involve a family member, a relative, and/or your child’s teacher to complete.
9. Feedback session. After the testing and written report(s) are completed, we will provide you with feedback. This meeting may be with you, parents only, or with both child and parents, depending upon the developmental age of the child. During the feedback session, we review results and findings, discuss recommendations, and address any remaining questions.
You Get To Choose: Diagnostic Note or Comprehensive Report
A Diagnostic Note
A diagnostic note is a brief document that summarizes the diagnostic impression after the evaluation or assessment process. Because it is considerably shorter, it costs less than a comprehensive report. The diagnostic note typically includes:
- List of tests that were completed during the assessment process
- Diagnosis, as applicable
- Recommendations regarding social and emotional needs
- Recommendations regarding developmental needs
- Recommendations regarding educational or work modifications and accommodations.
A Comprehensive Report
A comprehensive psychological report is a detailed document that summarizes the results of a psychological evaluation or assessment. This report typically includes:
- Presenting questions
- List of tests that were completed during the assessment process
- Information about your background
- Relevant history
- Current symptoms or challenges
- Description of the methods and instruments used to gather data
- Scores and interpretations of results of the testing completed
- Observations made during the evaluation
- Information gathered through interviews with you or other sources.
- Information about your relative strengths and challenges
- Diagnosis, as applicable
- Suggestions or strategies for managing any areas of difficulty
- Recommendations regarding social and emotional needs
- Recommendations regarding developmental needs
- Recommendations regarding educational or work modifications and accommodations
Both Can Help
Both diagnostic notes and comprehensive reports include detailed recommendations and accommodation needs based on your unique needs and circumstances that can be used to:
- Confirm or rule out diagnosis(es)
- Discover comorbidity
- Gain in understanding
- Complete a picture
- Provide details of relative strengths and challenges
- Inform treatment Strategies
- Guide recommendations and specific accommodation needs
- Repair
- Self-understanding, self-acceptance
- Family/community understanding, family/community acceptance
- Communicate diagnostic information and accommodation needs to schools
- Communicate accommodation needs to employers
- Provide healthcare providers, insurance companies, or legal professionals with diagnostic information
- Inform treatment planning and help guide interventions and referrals for mental health services
Confidential Information
Duplicate print copies or PDFs of the report can be sent to you and/or any schools or professions for whom you provide written consent. Reports cannot be released to a school or anyone else without your written consent. Please schedule your appointment(s) in time for any reports to be received by your school(s), if there is concern about a deadline.
Our Testing Meet The Highest Standards
Our tests are accepted by the Davidson Institute and others.
Feedback Session
During your feedback session, we will review your assessment findings in detail, including your test scores and our recommendations. During your feedback session, you will receive your diagnostic note or comprehensive report in .PDF format. You may also receive a paper copy if we meet in-office for your feedback session.
Assessment Fees
The total cost for evaluation and assessment is based upon the amount of time associated with completing the evaluation and diagnostic note or comprehensive report. Our assessment rate is $300 per hour.
The amount of time needed to complete the assessment process is based on the type of evaluation, what is being assessed, tests utilized, and your particular presentation and needs. The types of evaluation and assessment vary greatly, and we welcome complex cases.
The amount of time it takes for the entire assessment process varies, and typically runs between 2 hours (such as a brief observation evaluation) to 20 hours (for complex situations). The total hours may include time for interviews, testing, evaluation, observation, test scoring, document review, note/report writing and feedback. Most of our assessment batteries tend to average about 12 – 20 hours, however the hours/fees depend upon the types of tests, evaluation goals and individual needs. If you have questions about assessment costs, or anything else, please contact us. We are always happy to connect!
We will provide you with a detailed estimate prior to initiating assessment and/or evaluation, and ask for 50% of the estimated amount up front in order to begin the testing and/or evaluation process.
Each session may be scheduled in 45/50 minute or 100 minute time blocks, depending upon your needs. We may schedule testing over half a day, with a break, in cases where in-office testing needs to be completed in one sitting.
There are several types of sessions:
- Clinical interviews
- Observational session
- Testing in-office or online
- Feedback session
- Consultation meetings
Common Questions and Answers (FAQ)
Please click below to learn more about the assessment and evaluation process.
How do I talk with my child about the assessment process?
It’s important to be both careful and honest when talking with your child about assessment. What to say depends upon your child’s age, developmental strengths, and the topic of assessment.
In general, when you talk with us about the assessment process, we will strategize with you ways to talk about the assessment process. For example, depending upon your unique situation, it might be more helpful to avoid using the word “test” or “games,” and instead describe the assessment process as working on various activities that help you make decisions about school and/or get the right type of support. In regards to expectations, your child can be prepared to follow sets of instructions.
How can my child study or prepare for the assessment?
Please do not coach or prep your child for assessment, and please do not expose your child to assessment testing material prior to the evaluation. This would invalidate test results. Instead, the best way to prepare is to help your child understand that they will need to listen carefully, to follow directions, and to relax and just be themself.
How long will the assessment process take?
Depending upon the type of assessment, the testing meetings generally last between 45 minutes-100 minutes. There may be more than one meeting scheduled in a given day.
For example, the MIGDAS-2 test for adults typically takes around 100 minutes to complete, however for a percentage of clients it can take up to 4 hours to complete. The amount of time that is required to complete the test depends upon your unique presentation.
Another example is the DAS-II, which usually takes between 30 – 100 minutes, depending upon your child’s developmental age and working style. Younger children generally have a shorter test administration time. These are average times and please keep in mind that some children work faster or slower than others, and that different types of assessment take different amounts of time.
We will meet with you alone (teen, adult, or one or both parents) prior to the testing time in an initial diagnostic meeting, in order to gather information about your questions, your child’s developmental milestones, birth and pregnancy history, and other important information, and this interview would be part of the assessment meeting time.
In general, it’s best to plan on spending approximately 1- 2 hours online or at the office per visit. We will let you know ahead of time approximately how long the process will take, and if it seems that the process will take longer or shorter than anticipated, we will certainly let you know.
Will my child get a break, or does she have to sit still for 2 hours?
Depending upon the situation and type of assessment, your child may be able to take a rest break. Of course, your child will be allowed to take a restroom break, hydrate or have a snack, as needed. We understand the need to move around, and will be kind and accommodate your child’s needs.
Can I observe my child’s assessment?
Although we welcome parents to join their children for family therapy meetings, the assessment process is different, and in most cases the parent will not be allowed to observe the assessment.
The assessor will meet with parents prior to beginning testing. Parents are expected to wait in the waiting room during the evaluation, and reading material, internet access, water and tea are provided for waiting parents.
One important source of the information is how your child responds during when parents are not present. This will also provide insight regarding how your child will perform in school. If you have a special situation, please talk with us ahead of time. We will do our best to accommodate your needs within allowable parameters of the assessment.
The assessor will work to help your child feel relaxed, and will approach the activities positively. In addition, test items are designed to be appealing and engaging to children, which will help them feel more at ease.
When can I expect the results from the assessment?
We will schedule a feedback meeting to go over assessment results with you after the tests are scored, evaluated and written up in a diagnostic note or comprehensive report. This may take 3-4 weeks after the testing has been completed, depending upon the type of testing. If you have a deadline, we will make every effort to assist you, however please schedule assessments with sufficient time to guarantee any deadlines are met.
Can I cancel or reschedule my child's appointment?
Yes. Appointments are often made several weeks or even months in advance. For this reason, we ask that if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, please be considerate to those who may be able to use that time, and provide at least 48 hours in advance notice for a cancellation. Please note that a late cancellation fee of $300/50 minutes scheduled will be charged for appointments cancelled without 48 hours’ notice.