Assessment specialization includes:
Psycho-educational - Psycho-educational evaluations include measures of intellectual and achievement functioning, and sometimes visual-motor, personality, emotional, and behavioral functioning. This battery is often used to assess problems with intellectual and learning disabilities, and/or to evaluate the reasons for school difficulties (often viewed as behavioral problems). If you or your child has struggled with maintaining grades, inconsistent performance in school, struggling with behavioral or emotional difficulties in the classroom, then this battery is likely appropriate. This battery is also used for giftedness and school entrance examination evaluations.
Developmental - A developmental evaluation includes measures of intellectual and adaptive functioning, and sometimes include measures of achievement, visual-motor functioning, school readiness, and emotional and behavioral functioning. This battery is often used to assess for problems with regard to intellectual disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorders, developmental concerns with regard to milestone delays, and school readiness capabilities.
Treatment Resistance - This evaluation contains any measures which would be valuable in determining the reasons for possible stagnation (lack of movement) or regression (moving backwards) within therapy. This battery would often include measures of personality, emotional, and behavioral functioning in order to assess for these factors within therapy. A common test used to assess for these problems is the MMPI-2. This test can provide data for a client’s motivation for treatment, and their prognosis based on their personality.
Diagnostic Clarification and Treatment Planning - This type of evaluation is used to gain clarity in cases which may be confounding, overwhelming, or have multiple diagnostic factors. Measures would be determined based on an extremely detailed and chronological clinical interview of the client’s history. Frequently, psychiatrists and therapists will refer for this type of assessment due to needing more information about their clients. Additionally, a physician might require this in conjunction with medication treatment.
ADHD Evaluations - Due to the extremely large overlap of ADHD symptoms with many other diagnoses (e.g., depression and anxiety), it is crucial for our clients to have diagnostic clarification; especially in cases where psychiatric medications are being utilized. This battery would include measures of intellectual and achievement functioning, and include measures of emotional (projective and objective measures), behavioral, visual-motor, and executive functioning in order to assess for the neurological deficits commonly associated with ADHD. Oftentimes, children and adolescents are diagnosed by pediatrician's offices with only the use of rating scales. This is extremely dangerous as many individuals will show positive symptoms of ADHD when an anxiety problem is causing their symptoms. If stimulant medication is used in these cases, it can cause serious and adverse reactions.
Learning Disability Evaluations - Learning Disabilities can include assessment for reading (including dyslexia), math (including dyscalculia), or written expression (including dysgraphia) disorders. A battery of tests would include a variety of academic measures to determine possible weaknesses, even those that might be subtle and not often observed in the classroom. These problems can often overlap with other symptoms and can look like things like ADHD, behavioral, and emotional problems, and if you suspect you or your child might have one or more of these difficulties it is important to determine if accommodations might be of help to you. Support could be provided in multiple ways in the classroom or the workplace. When not addressed, there can be significant adverse reactions.
Other general evaluations provided:
- Emotional Difficulties
- Learning Disabilities
- ADHD
- Behavioral Problems
- Treatment Resistance Problems
- Traumatic Experiences/PTSD
Dr. Lokken and her team have over 15 years of experience conducting specialized psychological evaluations in a multitude of settings including the private practice office, schools, and hospitals. An effective psychological evaluation combines a range of tests which answers the referral question.