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What is psychological testing?
Psychological testing (also called assessment) is something that psychologists can do to help kids and families better understand their symptoms, make a diagnosis, and figure out what types of treatment might be helpful for them. Your provider may suggest psychological testing for your child to get more information about what’s going on and how to best help them.
Psychological testing is usually done by a psychologist, but sometimes therapists who have their master’s degrees can do certain types of tests too. Schools also offer certain types of psychological tests which can be given by a school counselor or school psychologist.
Psychological testing is different from going to therapy, getting evaluated by a psychiatrist, or getting medical testing done. There are no brain scans or blood tests done! Parts of psychological testing feel kind of like taking a test at school. For other parts of testing, kids and parents might answer questions about their symptoms and talk with the psychologist. Some tests involve looking at pictures, solving puzzles, or being creative.
At the end of testing, you will usually receive a report with the testing results. This might include things like a summary of your child’s symptoms and your family background, records from their school, an explanation of what tests they were given and why, the scores they got on the tests, and what those scores mean. If the psychologist thinks that your child has enough symptoms to make a diagnosis, they will usually write this diagnosis in the report. Typically a report also includes recommendations for treatment that the psychologist thinks will be helpful, based on your child’s symptoms and how their brain works.
How do I know if my child needs psychological testing?
Psychological testing can be helpful for a few things:
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Your child is struggling in school and you don’t know why.
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Your child seems to think about things differently than other kids.
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Your child needs a diagnosis to qualify for services (such as disability services, school accommodations, or a higher level of care).
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Your child has been tested before and you want to see if things have gotten better.
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Your child has been diagnosed with something and getting treatment for it for a long time, but treatment doesn’t seem to help and you are worried something else might be going on.
Who can get psychological testing?
Anyone can get psychological testing, and it can give you a lot of helpful information about why your child may be struggling and what will help them. Insurance coverage for psychological testing can be different from other types of mental health treatment, so talk to your child’s treatment team and insurance provider to see what is covered. Testing can take a bit of time, but it gives you a lot of very specific information about your child and can really help for both caregivers and their treatment team.
Schools also offer certain types of psychological testing. If your child attends public school and is having trouble at school, you can request testing through the IEP or 504 process (more information on that here). This is usually the easiest and most affordable way to get testing, and parents usually do not have to pay for these services at a school.
There are different tests that are given to kids and teenagers than what is given to adults. Talk to your child’s provider to make sure they have experience working with kids that are the same age as your child. Psychological testing can be difficult with very young children because they are not able to tell us much about what is going on in their brain, there are not as many tests that can be given for very young kids, and they are usually not able to sit still for a long time to take the tests.
What happens during psychological testing?
Most providers who do psychological testing start with a “clinical interview” (also called an intake or an intake interview). This is a time when they will ask you and your child a series of questions about what is going on and why you came in for testing. They might ask about your child’s experience at school, your family background, your child’s health and medical history, and your child’s development. If your child is old enough to answer some questions about themselves, they might participate in the interview with you, or they might have a separate interview with the provider.
After the clinical interview or intake, some private insurance companies require preauthorization for testing, which means that your provider will have to submit paperwork to the insurance company and wait for them to approve the testing. Without preauthorization, some insurance companies will refuse to pay for testing, so this is an important part of the process if you are using insurance. Your provider will use information from the interview with you to prove to the insurance company that your child meets medical necessity, which means that they have symptoms that require psychological testing. Ask your provider what this process looks like for your insurance company, and what information they have to share to get preauthorization.
Once you have preauthorization from insurance (or if you are paying for testing yourself or have an insurance company that doesn’t require preauthorization), the testing process will start. Some providers do testing all in one day and some may have your child come back a few times to finish testing. Most providers do testing in-person, which means your child will have to go to their office. Providers will do different kinds of tests depending on what your child is being tested for. Some assessments check to see how your child’s brain works, others look at how they solve problems, and others ask about their mental health and emotions.
After testing is done, you’ll get a report that will tell you about the results of testing. Typically you’ll be able to have a meeting with your provider to talk about the report and what the results of testing were. You can also ask your provider what they recommend for your child based on the results of testing – this can provide helpful information about your child’s functioning and can tell you what might work well for them in treatment. You’ll want to keep the report – if your child starts seeing a therapist or another provider after testing, it’s a good idea to share the report with them so they know what’s going on and what will help in treatment.
How do I prepare for psychological testing?
There’s not a lot you need to do to get ready for testing – the biggest thing you can do to help is to make sure your provider has all the information they need. Here are a few things to consider:
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If your child has had any testing before (at their school or with another provider), bring records of this to your testing appointment so your provider has this information.
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If you have information about your child’s early development (like any complications they had when they were born, or how old they were when they learned to walk and talk, or if they ever had speech or physical therapy when they were little), this is also helpful for your provider to know.
To prepare your child for testing, use the following checklist:
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When your child goes in to see their provider for testing, make sure they’re ready for the day by getting enough sleep, eating a good breakfast, and bringing any snacks or comfort objects they might need to feel comfortable during the testing session.
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If your child is taking medication (e.g. medication for ADHD), make sure your provider knows, and ask if they should take their medication the day they go in for testing.
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If your child asks for information about testing, answer calmly and provide some basic information. It might be helpful to reassure your child about why they are getting tested – some kids worry that there is something wrong with them, so you might say something like “We’ve noticed you’re having a hard time with school lately, so we’re doing testing to understand how your brain works and make sure your teachers are helping you learn in the right ways!”
I think testing would help my child. What do I do now?
If your child is seeing a therapist or another provider, ask them if they know a provider who offers psychological testing, and see if they can refer you. Some clinics will ask you to have a written referral from someone, but many will let you request testing yourself. If you can, get the process started right away – it’s common for clinics to have a waitlist for psychological testing, so it might take a bit before your child can see a provider.
If you think your child might be eligible for testing at school, this is usually the fastest and easiest way to get testing done. You will have to request this type of testing in writing to the school. If you want to learn more about this process, you can read our article on Talking To Your Child’s School.
Looking for a provider who offers psychological testing? Browse our list here.