Who should consider a psychological assessment?

A psychological evaluation may be helpful for children, teens, or adults when there are ongoing questions about attention, learning, emotional regulation, behavior, social functioning, or development. It can also be useful when someone’s performance doesn’t seem to match their abilities or effort, when treatment hasn’t produced the expected results, or when previous diagnoses don’t fully explain what they’re experiencing.

The goal is to understand the whole picture, not simply identify a diagnosis. Testing can clarify strengths, challenges, and the factors contributing to them so that treatment, school, workplace, or other recommendations are based on a more complete understanding.