Psychological Assessments

Psychological assessments are performed for many reasons. Although it is not necessary to undergo formal psychological assessment before beginning some therapies, others do rely on a comprehensive understanding of how past and present factors contribute to people’s current distress before therapy can be started.  

Clinical psychologists and psychotherapists commonly investigate people’s past experiences, often as far back as they can remember, in order to understand how these have affected the development of someone’s personality and how their personality affects the ways that they think, behave and feel on a daily basis.  

Often it can be therapeutic in itself to have a psychological assessment. People can feel empowered and better equipped to make changes in their lives if they can understand what “makes them tick”. Other therapies rely on the gradual uncovering of important events as part of the therapy process rather than right at the start. Psychological assessments can occur routinely, as part of, or as a precursor to therapy, to help people better understand themselves or to help others involved in a person’s care to better understand them.