Your Guide to Psychological Testing
Our goal for this brief blog is to demystify the clinical testing process. Sometimes prospective clients are confused about the psychological testing process. Many clients do not pursue psychological testing due to these barriers. Our hope is to clearly state the process from the first call or email to the final feedback session when you receive your written report.
The first step in the clinical testing process is an intake. You will communicate with the clinician’s office, usually through email or a phone call, and answer questions to provide an understanding of your specific situation and needs.
After intake, the next step in the process is the clinical interview in which you will meet with a clinician. Clinical interviews usually take about one hour. During this time, the clinician will ask you questions about your background, health history, relational history, medications, and any other items relevant to your situation. The purpose of this interview is for the clinician to gain an understanding about you and what you hope to accomplish with psychological testing.
The next step in the clinical testing process is assessment administration. This typically takes place between a few days to a week after the clinical interview. Depending on your situation, assessments will be some combination of hands-on tests and questionnaires. These assessments will provide the clinician with information to reach a diagnosis and determine what treatment will be most helpful for you going forward. We use psychological assessments that have been tested and shown to provide reliable and valid results.
Once the clinical assessments have been administered, it will generally take between 4 to 6 weeks before you are given the results in a feedback session. In the meantime, clinicians will gather all of the information you have provided in your interview and assessments. The clinicians will interpret this information and spend time writing up your report and gathering helpful resources for you. When this step is finished, the clinicians will communicate your results to you in a feedback session.
The feedback session will include clinicians’ recommendations for your ongoing care and helpful community resources. If ongoing psychotherapy could be helpful for you, we offer several types of services, including psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and families. In addition to psychotherapy, utilizing local community resources can be a beneficial part of your ongoing care.
The understanding gained from psychological testing can be helpful to people in many different situations. If you have further questions about the testing process or our services, please contact our office at info@williamspsychological.org for more information.
Emma Wadhams is a researcher at Williams Psychological Testing. Her research interest include psychological testing, neurodiverse populations, and connecting clients to community resources.
Dr. Cedric Williams is a licensed clinical and consulting psychologist in Illinois (071.010742). He works with clients for psychological testing and assessment. Dr. Williams received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from an American Psychological Association accredited program at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy. In addition, to his work as a psychologist, Dr. Williams has served in the military since 2002. Dr. Williams holds a variety of cultural identities that helps him connect and build rapport with his clients.