Psychological Assessments are useful tools for understanding yourself. Most psychological tests are administered by trained clinical psychologists, who typically learned testing as part of advanced (PhD) training. It is one of the things that distinguishes psychologists form psychiatrists and social workers, since neither get trained in testing. Although there are many popular self-scoring tests available, most are relatively simple and, like the blood pressure cuffs in malls, at best can tell you when you are in over your head. If you requested a psychological testing battery for yourself or your child, the psychologist, after talking with you, most likely would select a battery of tests, chosen to address the issues that are most important. A thorough routine psychological evaluation has between 6 and 15 different tests, altogether taking at least a half-day, and more typically 6-10 hours, just to do the tests. (Its not uncommon to do them over 2, 3 or 4 briefer sessions). Later the psychologist scores the tests, writes a report, and goes over the results with you. Prices vary for a psychological evaluation, and your insurance may well help pay part of the cost. A low fee in the greater DC area for a standardized test battery would be $850 dollars, and most psychologists charge a good bit more than that. A more specialized assessment, like a custody evaluation, a neurological evaluation, or an evaluation for
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)