Assessment, Testing, and Evaluation Services
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADHD evaluations are often required for diagnosis, medication management, and certifying accommodations for school or work.
My strength-based approach to evaluation for ADHD is designed to inform your understanding of why you may have trouble concentrating, staying organized, or failing tests despite knowing the material.
Increased understanding of emotions, behavior, and personality
Has a provider given you a treatment or diagnosis, and despite your engagement, questions arise around the benefits of therapy or medications, and/or lack thereof? If so, a psychological evaluation would provide a focused and thorough review and assessment of your unique symptoms and life experiences to identify the most appropriate framework to explain the dynamics that are impacting you and keeping you from living your best life. More than clarifying diagnosis, the evaluation would also customize a recommended treatment plan for you.
Autism
Perhaps you have been self-diagnosed as autistic, or are starting to question if you could be autistic. I utilize a neurodiversity affirming and strength based approach for autism evaluations for adults in my practice. The evaluation process for autism will employ a collaborative process to support your journey to self-understanding.
Gender Affirming Procedures
Pre-surgical evaluations are requirements for specific gender-affirming procedures. WPATH standards & guidelines require an assessment letter from a provider and I approach this at an hourly rate. This process will review realistic expectations of what surgery can and can not do, emotionally preparedness for the realities of potential complications or less-than-satisfactory outcomes, and reviewing any additional needs or areas for support. My goal is to get you to surgery and support a positive and satisfactory outcome.
Career Choice & Planning
Are you struggling to understand what you should do for your career? Or feel unsure about what skills you bring to the table. In a Career Planning assessment we will explore aspects of your personality, working style, skills, values, & interests in order to provide a blueprint of your ideal career.
What to Expect from an Evaluation
The assessment process entails:
A brief phone consultation to clarify your question and reason(s) for seeking the evaluation
Dr. Aranda will conduct an initial interview to better understand you, your history, and the experiences that brought you to the assessment
From there, a variety of assessment tools will be selected and a testing battery will be customized unique to your needs.
You will be assigned a packet of standardized questionnaires that target the areas of functioning being assessed. This adds some quantitative (numbers) data to the information given in interviews. It also helps provide a comparison with others of your age.
(If applicable) We will meet for cognitive testing, or “brain games”, that explore aspects of learning and academic skills.
After the testing phase, Dr. Aranda will arrange a collaborative feedback session to visually review a summary of key take-aways and recommendations you can implement right away.
Lastly, if you chose to receive a narrative report, Dr. Aranda will provide an in-depth, comprehensive written summary that documents your strengths and needs, relevant diagnosis, test results, and recommendations. For Level 1 or hourly, you may only receive a brief summary letter that documents key take-aways.