Assessments

Modern Minds provides general and specialty-focused mental health services.

Assessment Sessions

Diagnostic Assessments are completed as part of the intake process to begin psychotherapy services and can also occur as a stand-alone service.

Assessing mental health and understanding what services are available and helpful for what issue is confusing and can become quickly overwhelming. If you are stuck, overwhelmed, frustrated, or worried, a diagnostic assessment is a great place to start.

There are several reasons why individuals may schedule a diagnostic assessment as a stand-alone service.

• An individual may be seeking a second opinion from another health care provider.
• An individual may be recommended or required from another agency or system to seek an assessment and recommendations from a mental health professional.
• An individual may need an assessment completed as an eligibility requirement for other services (like case management, employment support, or substance use programming).
• An individual may not be ready or interested to start psychotherapy services and simply wants to better understand what may be contributing to their current challenges and what options are available to help.
• An individual may be questioning whether current services and supports they are connected with are meeting their needs.
• A parent, caregiver, or another adult may be concerned about a teen’s wellbeing and not know were to start.
• A teen may be asking to talk to someone and a parent or caregiver isn’t sure if psychotherapy is the right fit.

As part of the assessment process, the therapist will help you to better understand what may be happening and offer suggestions about services that may be most beneficial to you. There is a large continuum of mental health services available and it is not always easy to know what level of care is the best fit. Connecting with care levels that are higher or lower than is needed can lead to further frustrations and a sense of “nothing is working”.

At Modern Minds, we are attuned to listening to what you share and working collaboratively with you to figure out the next best options.

With traditional mental health clinics, there is often an obligation that once you begin services with a provider, you are obligated to continue. This can make it difficult or awkward to end services if you are not connecting or finding a good fit with your current provider.

Modern Minds honors your ability to choose what that next best option is. You are not required or obligated to continue with psychotherapy services once an assessment is complete. You have the option to take the assessment and recommendations home as you consider next steps.

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What is a Diagnostic Assessment?

A diagnostic assessment includes a detailed history, analysis of current functioning, diagnosis (if applicable), and recommendations for services. Tw0 45 minute sessions are recommended to complete a diagnostic assessment, including a review of recommendations for services. Diagnostic assessments are generally completed every two years for adults and annually for adolescents.

• Assessment session bundle (two 45 minute sessions) $250

What is the difference between a diagnostic assessment, a psychiatric evaluation, and psychological evaluation?

This is a common question. There are many similarities to each of these and distinct differences. The common thread is that each of these assessment types are completed by a licensed mental health professional who has training in assessing and diagnosing of mental health conditions, recommending a course of treatment for such mental health conditions, and able to employ psychotherapy as a type of treatment intervention. The differences between these assessment types varies with the differences in licensure and level of education.

A diagnostic assessment is completed by a licensed mental health professional that is, at a minimum, master’s level trained. This includes licensed professionals including but not limited with credentials of LGSW/LICSW, LMFT, LPC/LPCC, CNS, CNP. Licensed professionals are trained to assess, diagnose, and provide psychotherapy interventions for mental health conditions.

A psychiatric evaluation is a type of assessment used by psychiatrists. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (an M.D. or D.O.) who specializes in mental health, including substance use disorders. Because they are physicians, psychiatrists can order or perform a full range of medical laboratory and psychological tests, and are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems. Psychiatrists, as physicians, are also able to prescribe medications and have specialized knowledge about psychiatric medications.

A psychological evaluation (sometimes referred to as ‘psych testing’) is a type of assessment used by psychologists. A psychologist is a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD in Psychology), a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD). As a PhD or PsyD, psychologists are trained to administer additional psychological tests and assessment tools to further examine cognition, emotional, behavioral, and learning.

Mental health professionals commonly refer to one another for different types of specialized assessment measures. While it is common that no two diagnostic assessments will look exactly alike, there is often more overlap than meet’s the eye. A single assessment is rarely the full picture of a person. It is simple a snapshot of a person in a moment of time through the lens of a professional whos specific training may color the image a certain way.

At Modern Minds, we look at diagnostic assessments as a living and breathing document. The more we work with a person, the more our shared understanding of the whole person shifts over time.

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