As a school psychologist with over 20 years experience, it has been my passion to help students get the most out of their educational experience. I consider myself an advocate to both students and parents within the educational system. I decided to take my experience from working in the schools to private practice to broaden my commitment to helping others better understand themselves. I believe psychological assessments can be a useful tool in doing so. My approach to conducting evaluations is to make you as comfortable as possible during the evaluation. After talking with you about your assessment needs, we will discuss the process and tools that will be used to better prepare you for the evaluation. I will discuss the results with you in a comfortable environment and ensure you have a clear understanding of what your strengths and weaknesses might be and how to utilize those strengths in your journey of understanding yourself. 

The purpose of a psychological assessment is to better understand a person's strengths and weaknesses, identify potential problems with cognitions, emotional reactivity, and to help make recommendations for treatment. An assessment can include a multitude of tools such as, cognitive, academic, adaptive behavior, behavior rating scales, and personality assessments. Cognitive assessments measure a person's cognitive abilities- problem solving, reasoning, vocabulary, comprehension, processing speed, and memory. They are more commonly known as intelligence or IQ tests, and are used to identify a person's strengths and potential, as well as to help identify weaknesses. Academic assessments are typically used for the school aged population to test how much an individual has progressed in learning a specific subject. Adaptive behavior measures the social, communication, and practical skills of a person, to determine their ability to function on a daily basis at home, school or work. Behavior rating scales measure a variety of emotional and behavioral problems both at home and school. Personality assessments focuses on the personality traits of an individual. It helps evaluate if a person is more introverted or extroverted, cautious or spontaneous, and how they may react or respond to various life situations.