Evaluations

Psychological evaluations are a specialty of HRA. Our testing suite is user friendly, staffed by a technical specialist, and contains an extensive library of tests. Scanning and computer scoring produce timely and accurate results.

Chronic Pain:

The experience of Chronic Pain includes medical, social, and psychological factors. This evaluation combines information from all related sources to understand the impact of the pain experience upon a person's life. Such assessments are frequently utilized in rehabilitation, medical treatment, or litigation.

Personal Injury:

This assessment reviews the medical, social, and psychological impact of serious injury upon an individual's immediate and future life. Assessments are made for loss of life enjoyment, job functioning, job satisfaction and earnings as well as psychological distress.

ADHD/ADD:

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD) is a medical diagnosis that represents a spectrum of problems regarding difficulties with sustained attention span, self-control and other problems with regulating personal behavior. The concept of ADHD has expanded in recent years to include a wider range of behaviors. Thus, not all individuals with the ADHD diagnosis share the same pattern of symptoms. ADHD begins in early childhood but can persist throughout an individual’s entire lifespan.

The psychological assessment of Attention Deficit Disorder involves a clinical interview, questionnaires completed by the patient and often other family members and specific measures of attention and concentration span. Sometimes, the ADHD assessment involves testing of intellectual and academic capacities so that learning disabilities can be ruled out as an alternative explanation for the individual’s presenting problems. Thus, costs for an ADHD evaluation are variable depending on the complexities of the case and which alternative diagnosis must be explored.

If an individual is diagnosed with ADHD, he or she can be referred to an appropriate treating clinician for follow up treatment. Clinicians at HRA also work actively to communicate with the patient’s primary care physician to coordinate care when necessary.

Learning Disability:

The term Learning Disability can be used in two basic ways. It can refer to learning difficulties, which include broader factors such as mental retardation, brain injury, sensory difficulties or emotional disturbance. It also refers to the inability of an individual (both a child and adult) to acquire the scholastic status consistent with an individual's intelligence, maturational level, and cultural background. A difficulty with processing language and related academic struggles are often present in one or more of the following areas: reading, speaking, writing, spelling or mathematical calculations. The appropriate assessments can determine the nature of the problem and the best strategies to foster academic growth.

Vocational/Career:

Vocational and career evaluations include review of work history, psychometric testing and career planning. An assessment is made of a person's aptitude, social skill repertoire, personality factors, vocational interests and job availability. The evaluation seeks the best combination of ability, social skills, risk, interest and job availability. Counseling and assistance with resume preparation, job search planning, interview practice and support during a career search often accompany the assessment.

Child Abuse/Neglect Evaluations:

Individuals who are accused of child abuse or neglect typically require a psychological evaluation to determine whether they can provide a safe and stable environment for a child. An evaluation consists of clinical interviews, psychological testing, and consultation with attorneys and social service agencies to determine the best way to help an individual or a family. This is a specialized type of assessment that focuses on examining clients' strengths and capacity to provide care for a child.

Criminal Competency:

This evaluation is frequently associated with an assessment for criminal responsibility. A defendant to a criminal charge is presumed competent to stand trial. A defendant can be determined incompetent if he/she is incapable, because of a mental condition, of understanding the nature and object of the proceedings against them or of assisting in their defense in a rational manner. The assessment assists the court in determining the capacity of a defendant to assist in their defense or their ability to perform reasonably necessary tasks in the preparation of their defense and during the trial.

Criminal Responsibility:

This evaluation frequently goes hand-in-hand with criminal competency. The primary question is whether individuals can conform their behavior to the guidelines of the law or are able to understand right from wrong. If, due to serious mental illness or intellectual impairment, individuals cannot be held responsible for their behavior, they may be considered legally insane. This assessment generally combines careful review of all pertinent police, medical, and evaluative reports. This assessment is often introduced as evidence in a courtroom.

Custody:

Custody evaluations help the Court to determine the custody arrangement that is in the best interest of the children. This generally includes all affected parties, information from numerous sources, psychological testing and follows the guidelines of the Child Custody Act. Smaller evaluations relating to specific questions such as review of a person's mental health history can be performed.

Parenting:

This evaluation is often part of a custody assessment. At times, parenting is reviewed without questioning custody. This assessment reviews the relationship between the children and respective parents, the developmental needs of the children, and parenting styles. The evaluation seeks a parenting arrangement that is in the best interest of the child and respects each parent's right to maintain a productive relationship with the child.

Substance Abuse:

Evaluations often assist both the individual and the court in determining the best course of treatment. This generally includes a family, medical, job and substance use history. The assessors, utilizing their knowledge of alcoholism/drug abuse, provide recommendations that will best facilitate recovery.

Neuropsychological Evaluations:

Neuropsychology is a field of science combining knowledge of the physical functioning of the brain and the psychological functioning of the individual. Neuropsychologists are concerned with the cognitive functions of the brain; if impaired by illness, injury or other dysfunction, how they can affect a person's thinking, emotional stability, and behaviors . Neuropsychological evaluations assist in diagnosing traumatic brain injury, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, tumors, memory impairment, learning disabilities, strokes and questions of competency. Such evaluations are frequently used to determine competency.

Health Psychology:

Persons with physical health problems have multiple needs...medical, emotional, social, and spiritual. Health psychology represents the area of science where behavioral and biomedical sciences have come together in an effort to respond to the needs of the medical patient. Health psychologists evaluate and treat problems related to chronic illness and disabilities, pain disorders, stress management, sexual dysfunctions, appetite disturbances, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, and many other health problems.