Psychological Assessment

Individuals are complex, and the underlying cause of problems is not always clear.  Psychological tests and assessments allow a psychologist to understand the nature of a problem and figure out the best way to address it.  Dr. Ermshar and her team are uniquely qualified to use tests and other assessment tools to measure and observe an individual’s behavior in order to arrive at a diagnosis and guide treatment.

Diagnostic Assessment

A comprehensive psychodiagnostic evaluation offers an individual the opportunity to learn about specific problems they are struggling with, the origin of these difficulties, and how maladaptive patterns have developed and are currently maintained.  A comprehensive evaluation includes a thorough clinical interview, structured diagnostic assessment, collection of collateral information, including a review of available records, administration, scoring, and interpretation of standardized testing materials.  This information is integrated into a detailed and comprehensive written report of an individual’s psychosocial history, test results and interpretation, case formulation, diagnostic impressions, and targeted treatment options and recommendations.

Personality Assessment

Individual personality styles inform the way we interact with ourselves, others, and the world.  Personality testing highlights specific patterns of personality functioning, as well as overall personality organization and structure.  Specifically, personality testing can assist an individual in identifying strengths and weaknesses related to coping styles, stress tolerance, interpersonal styles, self perception, and emotional functioning.  This information can facilitate the development of specific treatment recommendations geared toward fostering personal growth and interpersonal effectiveness.

Neuropsychological Assessment

Although difficulties with cognitive functioning are often medical in nature, they can produce symptoms that affect mental and emotional states.  Neuropsychological testing provides an opportunity to understand the ways in which deficits of specific brain functions may impede the execution of everyday behaviors.  Specific neuropsychological tests provide information about attention and concentration, verbal ability, visual-spatial skills, motor functions, executive functioning, and memory.  This information can inform focused recommendations to address neurocognitive deficits and improve functioning in work, school, and other life domains.

Career Assessment

Career and occupational testing is designed to assist an individual in identifying interests and preferences.  Identifying an individual’s natural tendencies allows them to focus on what they are inclined to excel in and develop areas for growth.  The ability to understand both strengths and weaknesses allows an individual to effectively organize and present their abilities to potential employers, while developing long-term career trajectories.  For individuals who want to enhance their success within a given occupation, self-information gained from career testing can assist in developing specific, relevant, and attainable career goals.

Cognitive/Achievement Assessment

Achievement tests can assist an individual in gauging their knowledge and mastery of a specific subject.  These tests are often administered in educational settings, where subjects such as language and mathematics are assessed.  Cognitive or Intelligence tests differ from achievement tests in that they provide information about an individual’s potential for learning as demonstrated by broad and general abilities acquired over a long period of time.  Knowledge of specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses, intellectual giftedness, and achievement deficits can provide insights into learning disabilities and learning styles.  Recommendations and treatment planning informed by cognitive and achievement testing can foster personal, academic, and occupational success.

Adoption Readiness Evaluations

For individuals and couples seeking to become potential adoptive parents, national and international adoption agencies often require psychological evaluations to determine whether they are able and prepared to adopt and parent a child. These adoption readiness or pre-adoption evaluations entail clinical interviews about their background, as well as personality testing to assess the potential parents’ emotional maturity and stability, marital satisfaction, life stressors, interpersonal functioning, coping skills, parenting styles, and motivation to adopt. The report includes a summary and recommendations for the individuals based on the evaluation findings, which is then provided to the adoption agency.
Dr. Ermshar has conducted many of such evaluations, and is sent referrals from numerous adoption agencies nationally and internationally.