MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS
Why Get a Mental Health Assessment?
I provide thorough mental health assessments tailored to your unique needs. With over a decade of experience in clinical settings, I utilize evidence-based methods to evaluate various psychological conditions. My goal is to help you understand your mental health better and to provide appropriate recommendations for services, strategies, and supports that can help you manage your mental health symptoms and improve the quality of your life.
Approach to Assessment
I try to obtain a wide range of information to fully assess mental health symptoms and their impact in your life.
Online questionnaires/forms. Before we meet for a virtual assessment, I ask you to complete various online questionnaires and intake forms to gather historical information about your symptoms and their impact on your life. The questionnaires will focus on symptoms of mental health and/or their impact on your life. The specific questionnaires will vary depending on the nature of the assessment. By obtaining information on your history and symptoms before we meet, I am able to tailor our interview more effectively to fill in missing information, go into greater detail in relevant areas, and assess key symptoms relevant to the assessment question.
Past mental health or collateral records. If available, past assessments or medical records can help provide historical information about symptoms and co-occurring difficulties or diagnoses.
Clinical interview by secure video. A 2-hour virtual clinical interview is used to obtain information about your history and symptoms over time. The interview will cover a range of topics including family, relationships, school experiences, employment, and specific mental health symptoms at different stages of your life. I understand that assessments can be very stressful and I aim to make the session as safe and comfortable as possible.
Additional information from collateral sources. When appropriate, and only with your written consent, it can be helpful to obtain information from people who know you well (i.e., family member, close friend, partner) and/or professionals that you work with (i.e., counsellor, psychologist) because they can often provide another perspective on your symptoms or the impact they have on your life.
Virtual feedback session. A 50-minute feedback session by secure video is scheduled for approximately 2 or 3 weeks following the clinical interview, which allows me to obtain any additional information that is uncovered during our interview. During the feedback session, I will review the questionnaires, observations, interview/collateral information, and the outcome of the assessment (i.e., whether you meet the diagnostic criteria for a particular diagnosis). I will also provide recommendations for resources and referrals specific to your needs.
Written report. Following our feedback meeting, I will provide a brief report that will include an overview of the assessment procedure, results, and diagnostic outcome. The report will also include recommendations for resources, referrals, and/or strategies to support your individual needs.