Welcome to A Guided Path and thank you for your interest in obtaining a psychological assessment. Please read below for important information about the psychological assessment process.

Evaluation Process

Families seek out psychological assessment when they are trying to understand a particular difficulty or are facing a decision about their child that they would like more support around. Psychological testing provides the opportunity to really understand a child or teen at a more in-depth level in order to make recommendations so that they can be at their best. Each assessment is tailored to meet the needs of the individual child or teen.

The following is a typical outline of the assessment process. Depending on scheduling and needs, the process takes approximately 4-6 weeks.

• Initial intake interview with caregivers: Develop referral questions and gather background information

• School observation (if indicated)

• Consultation by phone/email with teacher(s) (if indicated)

• Assessment/Testing sessions with the client: Usually 2-4 sessions depending on developmental needs and referral questions

• Rating scales sent to parents, teachers, and completed by child (when age-appropriate)

• Ongoing discussion with caregivers about the process and initial impressions

• Feedback sessions: Caregivers, client, treatment team/school (if indicated)

• Written report with recommendations and feedback letters to child or teen

Preparing your child

Psychological testing is most effective when the child or teen is well-rested, has eaten, and not already fatigued; therefore sessions are done in the morning. It is important to prepare the child in a positive way about the assessment. Many children and teens may feel tired after the sessions given the cognitive and emotional demand. In addition, it is important to note that as with all mental health services there likely will be uncomfortable, painful or challenging things that come up. All testing sessions are based on the needs of the child, and if emotions arise, our psychologists utilize compassion, empathy, curiosity, and respect to support their clients.

Professional Fees

At A Guided Path, the cost of a comprehensive psychological evaluation is $5,000. This includes the initial appointment, evaluation sessions, scoring of tests, interpretation and integration of data, report writing, feedback letters, and sessions. It also includes reviewing previous evaluations, telephone conversations, school observations, collateral conversations with individuals important to your child’s treatment, reviewing of records, and any travel time, etc.  Please note, if additional needs arise that are outside our agreed upon evaluation plan, the fee is $200 per hour.

Regarding insurance: Assessments at A Guided Path are strictly out-of-network. Many health insurance policies provide some coverage for “Out of Network” mental/behavioral health treatment. Clients pay for the psychological service at the time it is provided, and then, upon request, our psychologists will provide an invoice that you may submit to your insurance company for reimbursement (this is typically a percentage of the total fee). Please note that you, not your insurance company, are responsible for payment of all fees.

Fee Schedule: Half of the total assessment fee is due at the initial meeting and the remainder of the balance is paid during the feedback session.

Cancellation Policy

Once an assessment is scheduled, we reserve those days and times for you. If you no longer wish to pursue an assessment, 7 day notice of cancellation of the process is needed prior to the parent intake. If you cancel the assessment process within the 7 day window, an administrative fee of $350 will be charged.

Confidentiality

Prior to beginning the assessment, it is important for you to understand and agree to some guidelines about your child’s confidentiality during the course of their treatment.

Under HIPAA and the APA Ethics Code, we are legally and ethically responsible to provide you with informed consent. At the onset of treatment, we will provide an Informed Consent, Office Policies, and General Information Form regarding this information. In general, the privacy of all communications between a client and a psychologist is protected by law, and the release of information requires your written permission. However, there are a few exceptions when disclosure is required by law and include the following: suspected harm or abuse to a child, elderly person, or disabled person, or if a client is threatening serious bodily harm to oneself or another, we are required to take protective actions. If a situation arises, we will make every effort to fully discuss it with you before taking any action.

In addition, we regularly consult with other professionals about our cases, as it pertains to providing the best treatment possible. The consultant(s) is(are) also legally bound to keep the information confidential.

If you use health insurance to help pay for your treatment, most insurance companies require you to authorize the psychologist to provide them with a clinical diagnosis; sometimes additional clinical information is required.

Additional Legal and Ethical Issues

Parent Authorization for Minor’s Mental Health Treatment: In order to authorize mental health treatment for your child, you must have either sole or joint legal custody of your child. If you are separated or divorced from the other parent of your child, please notify A Guided Path immediately. You will need to provide a copy of the most recent custody decree that establishes custody rights of you and the other parent, or otherwise demonstrates that you have the right to authorize treatment for your child. If you are separated or divorced from the child’s other parent, please be aware that it is the policy at A Guided Path to inform the other parent that their child is receiving a mental health evaluation or treatment, unless there are truly exceptional circumstances.

Parent/Guardian Agreement Not to Use Minor’s Mental Health Information/Records in Custody Litigation

When a family is in conflict, particularly conflict due to parental separation or divorce, it is very difficult for everyone, and especially for children. Our role is strictly limited to providing treatment to your child. It is a conflict of roles to function as an expert in offering opinions regarding the best custody arrangements for the child. We are unable to render an opinion about custody or the best living arrangement for your child.

Moving Forward with an Assessment

If you are interested in moving forward with a psychological evaluation or have additional questions, please contact us for a complimentary 15 minute consultation.