Psychological testing (also called assessment or evaluation) is the process of doing a deep dive into a person's history and relationships with themselves and others in order to answer the referral question. This process is similar to doing detective work to understand "why am I like this?"

An assessment can span several weeks to complete because of how many components are required. Most assessments will include 

• obtaining an in-depth history of your medical, mental, educational, and social experiences

• completing questionnaires about possible symptoms

• reviewing medical and/or educational records

• having significant people in your current and childhood life contribute their experience of you

• doing activities that measure your cognitive abilities

Some of these can be done remotely, and some must be done in-person.

A psychological evaluation typically can take 6-8 weeks to complete from start to finish. Sometimes that can be shorter or longer, depending on the complexity of the situation and how quickly forms and other information are submitted. 

The usual course of an evaluation follows this format: 

1. Typically, an evaluation starts with a free consultation call that is 15 minutes, to determine if I can help. 

2. If so, then there will be intake paperwork, questionnaires to complete, and forms to fill out that give me background information on you. 

3. That is followed by an intake, which lasts about 3 hours and is conducted virtually. 

4. If testing is deemed appropriate, then a 4-hour in-person appointment is scheduled. That is usually the bulk of the time needed from you. 

5. Next, I reach out to other people in your life to gather additional perspectives on you, as well as synthesize the results. How long this takes varies depending on how easily I can reach the significant others, or how complex the information may be. During this time, I may reach out with follow-up questions.

6. When the report is completed, I let you know that we can schedule a feedback session. In this final appointment, we review the report together, and I talk through my understanding of what is going on, the appropriate diagnoses, and my recommendations. Afterwards, the finalized report is shared with you, as well as any providers you'd like me to send it to.

The standard rate for assessment-related services is $200/hour. This includes face-to-face time as well as time required for scoring and interpretation of data, and report-writing. The total cost varies depending on the number of measures administered, the complexity of the case, and the time required to complete the report. A $500 deposit is required to initiate the testing process, which begins with the intake.

Your insurance may cover psychological testing and evaluation. Call the number on the back of your insurance card to find out. Ask the following to have a full understanding of what you may be financially responsible for:

• Is Diana Hu (NPI 1164874400) in-network?

• Do I need pre-authorization for ADHD evaluation?

• How much of my deductible is left? (For out-of-network, how much of my out-of-network deductible is left?)

• What's my co-insurance or copay for mental health services? (Specifically billing CPT codes 90791, 96132, 96133, 96136, and 96137)

• What's my out-of-pocket (or stop loss) amount?

Feel free to utilize this Assessment Charge Calculator to estimate your out of pocket cost. 

For more help navigating insurance and these terms, follow this link.

To prepare for a psychological evaluation, the ideal steps include the following:

• Take note of what kinds of symptoms you're noticing, and when they occur.

• Have an understanding of your current daily habits, routines, and self-care.

• Contact your insurance company to clarify your benefits and potential coverage.

• Let your parents and a close friend know that you might do this, and that they may be asked for their experience of you.

• If testing is for ADHD or a learning disability, gather childhood school records such as report cards and school reports, if possible.

• Be prepared to take a full day off of work for in-person testing, and possibly a half-day for the intake.

• Know that your honesty and openness is essential to an accurate and full picture of you, and is invaluable to this process.

At the end of an evaluation process, you can expect to have a written report that includes all the pieces of information necessary to understand what may be going on. That includes your history, the results of your testing, any diagnoses that may be appropriate, as well as recommendations and considerations. 

You'll have an understanding of why you are experiencing your current symptoms, as well as what you can do about them. Recommendations are organized based on medical, mental health treatment, occupational, social, and home domains so you can have many tools and directions. The feedback session will go over the results, how to navigate the report, and some of the primary recommendations to focus most on.

You are not guaranteed to receive a diagnosis, or to be diagnosed with what you believe you may have. Many conditions and typical life stressors can show up in someone's life similarly, and feel disruptive or distressing. Your results will be tailored to you, taking into account all of the factors that can impact what you are currently noticing.