Psychological Assessment

Assessments Offered:

  • Neurodivergent affirming autism, ADHD, and executive functioning evaluations

  • College and graduate school mental health academic accommodations evaluations

  • OCD evaluations (including folks with primarily mental compulsions, sometimes called ‘pure o’ type)

  • Psychodiagnostic clarification (good for folks who have complex mental health histories, feel they’ve been misdiagnosed, were considered “too high functioning,” or folks who just want to understand themselves better)

  • Gender affirming surgery letters of support evaluations (see section on letters of support)

  • Emotional Support Animal and Service Animal evaluations and letters of support for housing and travel

  • Workplace mental health disability accommodations evaluations

Note: I only work with adults (18+)

My Approach to Assessment

TL;DR: I offer neurodivergent affirming assessments with thorough recommendations. I believe assessment should be non-pathologizing but will strategically and collaboratively use diagnoses as needed to advocate for you getting the care, support, and accommodations you need.

My Ethics and Why I Believe in Assessment

While I don’t believe in pathologizing mental health or neurodiversity, sometimes it’s really helpful to have a diagnosis. Maybe you are looking to understand yourself and how you relate to the world better. Maybe you’re struggling balancing work, life admin tasks, and sensory overstimulation and don’t understand why you can’t keep up. Maybe you just want the mental health academic accommodations for college you know you should be entitled to based on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Whatever your reason for seeking an assessment, I will do my best to be neurodivergent affirming, trauma informed, non-judgmental, and non-pathologizing (except where it’s strategically necessary to highlight diagnoses for providing diagnostic clarity, advocating for accommodations, or obtaining insurance coverage~). We can talk through the risks and benefits of obtaining diagnoses prior to beginning the assessment so you can make an informed decision and we can collaborate on how to best preserve your autonomy and privacy. My hope is that you’ll come away from the assessment feeling like you understand yourself better, have new strategies for reducing emotional distress and increasing your bandwidth, and feel empowered to start accommodating your needs.

The Assessment Process

We’ll start with a brief phone call to talk about what you’re looking for and see if I’m a good fit (and if not, I’m happy to recommend colleagues who I think would be a good match). After that, we’ll meet several times in order to get a complete picture of your mental health and functioning. This may include exploring your mental health history, utilizing gold standard and neurodivergent affirming diagnostic assessment tools including interview protocols, objective testing measures, self-report questionnaires, and getting outside perspectives from people in your life who know you well. After the process is complete, I’ll write a report (thorough or brief, depending on how much of a deep dive you’re into) that will come with lots of recommendations and planning ideas. Depending on results, I may also refer you to other pros that can help with different aspects of functioning or managing sensory needs including occupational therapy, speech therapy, vision therapy, vestibular therapy, psychiatry, sleep medicine, neuropsychology, and case management. If your assessment results in a diagnosis where you’re eligible for accommodations (work, academic, housing, travel, national park pass etc.), I’m happy to fill out paperwork and advocate for you to get the support you need.

Insurance and Fees

‍Assessments can be challenging to get covered by insurance depending on your plan and the type of assessment you’re looking for. I am happy to help you determine your coverage options if you have one of the insurance plans I’m in network with (PacificSource and Aetna). For those who do not have coverage or choose not to use insurance for privacy regarding potential diagnoses, I offer self-pay assessment packages that include the assessment process, thorough recommendations and treatment planning guides, writing documentation for accommodations, and as well as follow-up check ins on how the recommendations are going.