Purpose and Nature of Psychological Assessments Services at CAPS. Psychological Assessments Specialty Clinic at CAPS offers two kinds of assessments: 1) Diagnostic Clarification Assessment, and 2) 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 member. 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.