Clinical Psychology Procedures

Your first interaction with your WellStar psychologist will generally entail an initial 50-minute diagnostic evaluation. This appointment  will include a comprehensive interview about your physical health, as well as your cognitive, emotional,  behavioral, and personality functioning. This assessment will help your psychologist understand you better, will help to clarify your treatment and evaluation needs, and may reveal the causes and contributors to the problems for which you are seeking help.

In addition to the clinical interview, initial diagnostic assessment  procedures may include:

• Tests and questionnaires, administered either by your psychologist or a psychometrist or doctoral student working under the supervision of your psychologist.
• Collection of information from medical, academic, and/or legal records, as appropriate.
• Interviews with family members, other associates, and healthcare providers.

As you prepare for your initial appointment, we offer the following suggestions to ensure that your experience is a good one:

• Please plan to arrive to your appointment at least 30 minutes before your appointment so you will have time to complete the necessary paperwork.
• Please note that if your appointment is at our Witcher Street location, there is a $3.00 charge for parking in the deck.
• If you wear glasses or contact lenses to read, or use hearing aids or other sensory enhancing devices, please bring these with you to your appointment.
• Please also bring with you a list of all medications you are currently taking, as well as those that you have taken within the last 90 days.
• If you are being referred for testing, it is imperative that you abstain from all alcohol and non-prescribed drugs for at least 24 hours prior to your appointment. Failure to do so could compromise your test results.