Psychological assessment (sometimes called ‘psychological evaluation’ or ‘psych testing’) is a specialized service that assists consumers and their care teams with obtaining an accurate mental health diagnosis and gaining additional recommendations and resources to meet their unique care needs. A licensed psychologist will work with you over a series of approximately 3 appointments to gain more information about your presenting concerns, select and administer the appropriate psychological assessments, and provide individualized information regarding results and recommendations.
Testing Timeline (Entire process from date of first appointment is approximately 2-4 weeks)
- Referral is completed and you are scheduled for your clinical interview.
- Attend clinical interview (up to 90 minutes) and schedule testing for roughly one week later.
- Attend formal assessment appointment (1.5-3 hours) and schedule feedback appointment for roughly one to two weeks later.
- Attend feedback appointment for results and recommendations (up to 60 minutes).
- Psychological assessment team sends a copy of the report to other providers/organizations at your request.
Types of Testing Provided (list is not exhaustive):
- ADHD
- Anxiety and OCD-related concerns
- Autism
- Behavioral concerns
- Gender-affirming care documentation
- IQ/IDD/Guardianship evaluations
- Learning disability/IEP
- Memory
- Mood disorders
- Personality disorders
- Pre-surgical evaluations: bariatric, spinal cord stimulator
- Psychosis
- Trauma concerns
Testing Exclusionary Criteria:
- Testing must be medically necessary i.e. beneficial to aid in your care
- You must be 10+ years old
- Neuropsychological, forensic or SSDI evaluations cannot currently be provided.
- Assessments are not eligible for telehealth visits
Referral Process:
- You or your provider/organization identifies that you may benefit from psychological assessment.
- You or your provider/organization calls SCC clerical staff for psychological testing at 570-348-6100, ext. 3364 to complete a referral form.
- Clerical staff will review referral form and will call you to schedule your first appointment
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I have to be a current consumer of SCC?
- No. You or someone in the community such as your primary care provider, therapist, school, surgeon, or another provider, can refer you for an evaluation.
- Where will my appointments be?
- All appointments will be in-person at our office: 329 Cherry Street, Scranton, PA 18505.
- Do I have to live in Lackawanna County to be tested?
- No, you only need to be a resident of Pennsylvania.
- Who should I bring with me to the clinical interview?
- For children under 14, a guardian MUST be present at the first appointment to be able to hear more information, consent to the testing process, and help with providing background information. For teens between 14 and 18, a guardian is not needed for consent purposes at the first appointment but is recommended, if the teen permits, to assist with additional background information.
- For adults without a legal guardian, you do not need to bring anyone with you but may choose to have someone with you (parent, significant other, case manager, etc.) if this would be helpful.
- Who will be with me during my assessment appointment?
- During the second appointment, the majority of the session is completed with only the psychologist and the person being assessed. If you are a child and have your guardian with you, your guardian will likely be filling out their own assessments about you in another room during the appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions (cont’d)
- How will I receive my results?
- You will receive your results at the feedback session, which is the last appointment. You will also be provided a copy of your psychological assessment report, which will have all of the relevant information for you and any other organization/provider (medical provider, school, etc.) with whom you would like to share your results.
- How long will the whole process take?
- The average time from the beginning to the end of the process is a few weeks.
- How much will services cost?
- Most insurances cover all or a portion of psychological assessment services. We are considered an in-network provider for most local insurances. You may want to call your insurance company to confirm if there will be a fee or deductible for psychological testing services. Our team will complete any pre-authorization forms.
- Are psychological and psychiatric evaluations the same?
- No, psychological and psychiatric evaluations are different. A psychological evaluation is completed by a psychologist (provider with a doctorate in psychology), and includes standardized assessments, diagnosis & clinical recommendations for the consumer and their teams to explore. This process is short-term. A psychiatric evaluation is done by a psychiatrist (medical doctor) for the primary purposes of diagnosis and medication management.
