Psychological Assessments Services at CAPS
CAPS offers two kinds of assessments:
- Diagnostic Clarification Assessment
- ADHD Assessment
The purpose of Psychological Assessments Services at CAPS is to clarify a client’s mental health diagnoses based on further in-depth and more comprehensive assessments of presenting symptoms and concerns related to personality and trait characteristics, behavioral and emotional patterns, psychopathology, and/or their cognitive functioning and their impacts on the client’s wellbeing and functioning to guide their mental health treatment. The goal is not simply to assign a diagnosis, but to gain a deeper understanding of the person's psychological functioning and provide recommendations for treatment, accommodation, or further evaluation.
Situations where a referral to Diagnostic Clarification Service may be appropriate:
- Uncertainty about whether symptoms reflect depression, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, autism, personality factors, or another condition.
- Multiple possible diagnoses that overlap.
- Conflicting diagnoses from previous providers.
- Treatment has not been effective.
- Determining whether symptoms are primarily psychological, cognitive, medical, or developmental in nature.
Situations where a referral to the ADHD Assessments Service may be appropriate:
- When there is evidence that persistent symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity are causing significant impairment and negatively impacting multiple areas of life (e.g., academic, work, relationships, and/or daily living activities).
Due to limitations in our current assessment resources, referrals to CAPS Assessments Services would NOT be appropriate in these cases and may be referred out to a community provider:
- To use assessments for mandated, court-ordered, or legal purposes.
- To assess for other neurodevelopmental disorders other than ADHD, such as autism
- To assess for learning disorders such as dyslexia
- Cases of brain injuries/ concussions.
- For ADHD assessments:
- If a client has severe visual and/or motor impairments.
- A client is unable to abstain from recreational substance use for at least 1 month prior to cognitive test.
What Psychological Assessments Entail
The Psychological Assessments Team at CAPS includes psychologists and doctoral interns. Assessment services consist of a range of 3-5 sessions with one or more Assessments Team members. Methods used during these sessions may include comprehensive clinical interviews, self- and observer-report questionnaires, objective measures, and cognitive performance measures. The final session of the assessment will be an interactive feedback session.
Fees
Assessments services are currently self-pay. Payments can be made either via credit card or through the student’s UNL billing account. We currently do not accept insurance.
- Diagnostic Clarification Assessments package: $200
- ADHD Assessments package: $500
Referral Process
The first step is for the student to call the CAPS front desk indicating their interest in assessments services. The student will meet the Assessment Coordinator for a 30-minute Assessments Consultation appointment to discuss appropriate next steps.
All CAPS assessments slots for Fall 2026 are currently filled. Students can sign up to be on the CAPS Assessments waitlist for Spring 2027 semester.
To get on the waitlist, call CAPS to schedule a 20-minute consultation session with the Assessments Coordinator.