DIAGNOSTIC INTERVIEWS AND CONSULTATIONS

WHY WOULD I BENEFIT FROM THIS SERVICE?

Increased understanding of behavioral/emotional patterns of behavior
Reliable diagnoses
Documentation of diagnosis in written format
Practical recommendations for management of symptoms
Recommendations for treatment

This service is offered by the following Practices:

These providers offer comprehensive evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults with concerns about emotional/behavioral disruptions. Evaluations are approached with a high level of expertise in emotional/behavioral difficulties that allows accurate diagnosis and formulation of how symptoms are impacting overall functioning. Overall goals of the evaluation include: determining if the individual's concerns warrant a diagnosis, educating the client (and families) about the diagnosis, and identifying specific recommendations for intervention.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Step 1—Clinical Interview/ Information Gathering:

A diagnostic interview to gather information regarding the client’s developmental, health, school/work, and family history will be completed. This step involves a comprehensive review of the presenting concerns and review of any relevant records (previous evaluation reports, report cards, and/or work samples). Interviews will be additionally focused on completing functional analyses of emotional/behavioral patterns to further understand the factors that precipitate and maintain disruptions. Based upon interview findings, semi-structured interviews will be completed with clients (and families) with a specific focus on differentiating between the many psychological disorders that share similar symptoms. For children and adolescents, our psychologists may also speak directly with school staff and/or observe the child in his/her classroom.

Step 2-Behavioral Rating Scales:

Clients (and parents) will complete various behavior rating scales used to assess symptoms associated with emotional/behavioral concerns. Since best practice in assessment involves gather information about a client's functioning across settings, we will also attempt to obtain a teacher report with applicable.

Step 3-Formulation/Recommendations:

We will provide a comprehensive formulation of results of the interviews and rating scales that will discuss diagnosis(es) completely and provide recommendations for intervention. Clients (and parents) will be encouraged to ask questions and voice concerns to ensure a full understanding of the findings and the suggested plan of action. When applicable, we will also provide a detailed, comprehensive written report that summarizes all of this information.

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