Mental health professionals at our centre use clinical observations, tests and other assessment tools to measure and observe a client’s behavior to arrive at a conclusion followed by a comprehensive therapeutic plan that accommodates each person’s individual needs.

In many ways, mental health testing and assessment are similar to medical tests. If a patient has physical symptoms, a primary care provider may order X-rays or blood tests to understand what’s causing those symptoms. The results of the tests will help the medical professional to develop a treatment plan. Mental health evaluations serve the same purpose.

Mental health professionals administer tests and assessments for a wide variety of reasons. The underlying cause of a person’s difficulty isn’t always clear. For example, if a child is having trouble in school, does he or she have a reading problem, an attention problem such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or perhaps difficulty with impulse control? Children who are experiencing difficulties in school, for example, may undergo psychometric evaluations, learning assessments neurodevelopmental assessments depending on the situation.

Tests and assessments are two separate but related components of mental health professional’s evaluation. Α comprehensive evaluation uses both types to help them arrive at conclusion and a therapeutic plan.

  • Testing involves the use of formal tests such as screening questionnaires or checklists. These are often described as “norm-referenced” tests. That simply means the tests have been standardized so that test-takers are evaluated in a similar way, no matter where they live or who administers the test. A norm-referenced test of a child’s reading abilities, for example, may rank that child’s ability compared to other children of similar age or grade level. Norm-referenced tests have been developed and evaluated by researchers and proven to be effective for measuring a particular trait or disorder.
  • An assessment can include numerous components such as norm-referenced psychiatric/psychological tests (including psychometric tests, learning assessments etc), informal tests and surveys, clinical interview information, school or medical records, medical evaluation and observational data. A mental health professional determines what information to use based on the specific questions being asked.

Assessment tools used by our Licensed Professionals:

1. Screening Questionnaires

2. Family Resilience Questionnaire

3. Wechsler Psychometric Tests in Greek and English:

 The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence | Third Edition (WPPSI-III) is an assessment of cognitive development for preschool and young children.

Target Age Group: 2:6-7:3

Benefits:
• Identify and qualify students with cognitive delays/difficulties to receive the necessary accommodations.
• Evaluate children for cognitive delays, intellectual disabilities, autism and giftedness.
• Determine the impact of traumatic brain injury on cognitive functions in children.
• Determine cognitive ability of children in question during custody hearings.

 The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children | Fifth Edition (WISC-V) is an intelligence test that measures a child’s intellectual ability and five cognitive domains that impact performance.

WISC-V gives school psychologists, clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists flexibility and interpretive power to get a broader view of a child’s cognitive abilities.

Target Age Group: 6:0–16:11.

Benefits
• Identify and diagnose intellectual and learning disabilities.
• Evaluate cognitive processing strengths and weaknesses.
• Assess giftedness and the impact of brain injuries.
• Supports more flexible evaluation of specific learning disabilities and two major approaches to specific learning disability identification: (1) pattern of strengths and weaknesses analyses and (2) ability-achievement discrepancy analyses.

 The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale | Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) is the most advanced adult measure of cognitive ability, based on recent research in the area of cognitive neuroscience and the theories and work of David Wechsler PhD.

Target Age Group: 16:0-90

Benefits
• Reflects changing demographics, emerging clinical needs, new research, and increased caseloads.
• Expanded clinical utility.
• Increased developmental appropriateness.

4. Learning Assessments in Greek (qualitative assessment) and in English using the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test | Third Edition (WIAT-III).

The WIAT-III is an achievement test used in a variety of clinical, educational and research settings, including schools, clinics, private practices and residential treatment facilities.

Target Age Group: 4:0-50:11

Benefits
• Identify student academic abilities, make educational placement decisions, diagnose specific learning disability, design instructional objectives, and plan interventions.
• Focus on reading goals and objectives with the Early Reading Skills subtests.
• Evaluate patterns of strengths and weaknesses to identify learning disabilities.

5. Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition – ADOS-2

ADOS – 2 is a standardized, semi – structured, observation assessment tool that allows the examiner to observe and gather information regarding an individual’s behavior and communication in a variety of different social situations. It allows the examiner to accurately assess and diagnose autism spectrum disorders across age, developmental level, and language skills.

Target Age Group: 12 months through adulthood