Assessments

Dr. Long offers testing for a variety of situations including: IQ assessment, personality measures, medical procedure readiness (including bariatric and pain treatment evaluations), mental health diagnosis, memory and executive functioning tests, career assessment, and pre-adoption evaluation. We do not currently offer evaluations for specific learning disabilities, disability determination, or forensic evaluations such as parental fitness or custody determination.

Bariatric Assessments

Unlike traditional diets for which risks are low and discontinuation can occur at any time, bariatric surgery has risks and requires highly restrictive, long-term behavioral changes afterwards. Therefore, patients are typically required to complete a thorough psychological assessment to determine appropriateness for surgery. If you have been referred for an assessment, you will meet with Dr. Long for a clinical interview that focuses on behavior, psychiatric symptoms, and understanding of the surgery. Then you will complete psychological testing, which provides an objective measure of personality style, psychological adjustment, and readiness for surgery. Although you may be hesitant and uncomfortable with the notion of seeing a psychologist before surgery, the information discussed during the clinical interview is critical not only for assessing your appropriateness for surgery but also for increasing your success during the post-surgery adjustment. Many patients report, after the interview, how valuable it was for them to examine the issues raised. In the clinical interview we will discuss the reasons for seeking surgery, weight and diet history, current eating behaviors, understanding of the surgery and its associated lifestyle changes, social supports and history, and psychiatric symptoms (current and past). This provides Dr. Long the opportunity to assess, provide education about the process, introduce management techniques, and increase motivation. Download the Health Q&A Psychological Evaluation 

Pain Management Assessments

There are different pain related procedures and surgeries that may require a psychological evaluation. If you have been referred for an assessment, this does not mean your physician assumes you have a mental health issue! For example, candidates for spinal cord simulator implantation are typically referred for psychological assessment as part of the screening process to evaluate the likelihood of positive outcomes and identify if there are untreated issues that might interfere with recovery. This is often required by insurance companies as the device is expensive and it is important that each patient have the best chance of success. This video talks more about this process.