Psychological Testing

Program Overview

Psychological assessment in the Sutcliffe Clinic not only includes testing with our psychologists, but also includes a holistic assessment of your child to better understand his or her strengths as well as challenges. There are potentially two functions behind psychological assessment. The first function is to determine if a diagnosis or condition is present. The second function, which is often of more importance, is to better understand your child’s overall profile, which helps us create a plan to leverage your child’s strengths, support ongoing skill-building and identify optimal treatments as needed.

A diagnosis, when it is made, can be helpful in recognizing appropriate services, acquiring insurance coverage, advocating for school support and gaining a better understanding of a child’s struggles. However, our clinic generally places less emphasis on making a diagnosis, although we do meet your needs in this area, and rather we place more emphasis on better understanding your overall child. 

Psychological assessment includes psychological testing, observations in clinic, observations at school (as needed), collateral interviews (as needed), parent assessment tools, teacher assessment tools.  Psychological testing is a quantitative and standardized way of measuring a child’s intelligence, academic abilities, social skills, executive functioning and mental health.

Psychological assessment, in our clinic, is often coupled with testing with our educational therapists when the presenting concerns are related to school and learning.  This allows for a more in-depth analysis of the school issues and the creation of a more precise and helpful treatment plan. 

Our ultimate goal during assessment is not only to identify the challenges and treatments that are needed but also to identify your child's strengths, and use these strengths to develop new skills and build self-esteem.

Psychological assessment can be helpful in identifying the following

Services Provided

Team Members