Psychological / Psycho-educational Assessment FAQ
What is a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment?
A formal psychological or psycho-educational assessment is an evaluation of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses relating to a variety of neurological and psychological processes including intellectual, achievement, emotional, behavioral, and attentional functioning. A psycho-educational assessment places more emphasis on the academic aspect of the testing than a psychological assessment does.
DC Psychological Services completes both full psychological/ psycho-educational assessments, as well as brief psychological/ psycho-educational assessments.
Assessments may potentially screen for a variety of neurological and psychological differences such as:
Learning disorders (such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, etc.); ADHD; Anxiety; Depression; Intellectual Disabilities; Behavioral challenges; Emotional Dysregulation; and Executive Functioning Deficits.
Assessments are completed by using standardized methods including: oral, written, and digital testing; clinical interviews; surveys; as well as in person observations. Standardized assessments allow underlying difficulties to be identified for the purpose of optimizing academic/ work, social, emotional, familial, and overall functioning.
What is the difference between a full psychological/ psycho-educational assessment and a brief psychological/ psycho-educational assessment?
A full assessment includes 4 to 6 hours of testing sessions where a formal evaluation is completed in order to provide a potential diagnosis and/ or to provide insight relating to the presence of any neurological deficits or proficiencies. Aspects of an individual's intellectual, academic, emotional, behavioral and attentional functioning are all evaluated during a full psychological/ psycho-educational assessment.
A brief psychological/ psycho-educational assessment includes a formal, although much less intensive and thorough, evaluation of a specific area of functioning and is shorter in duration requiring 2 to 3 hours of testing sessions. This will typically focus mainly on an individual's attentional and behavioral functioning.
Why would a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment be done?
Regardless of if the psychological/ psycho-educational assessment results in a diagnosis, the findings can be used in order to help an individual reach their full potential in a variety of environments. If there does not appear to be any specific disorders present, you will still gain helpful knowledge to assist you in moving forward addressing what is causing the difficulties that you or your child are experiencing.
The report provided at the completion of the assessment will provide recommendations to address any specialized services or resources which would be beneficial within home, school, and employment environments (e.g. individualized programming, assistive technology, extra time, access to specialized services, etc.) These reports are often required to access certain services provided by governments, school boards, community programs, and employers.
Who should have a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment?
DC Psychological Services completes psychological/ psycho-educational assessments for anyone who is at least 8 years old. In order to be able to accurately complete the assessment, it is preferred that an individual has had instruction of basic literacy and numeracy skills for at least 1 year.
Psychological/ psycho-educational assessments can be beneficial not just for children in the primary grades, but for older children, adolescents and adults as well. Occasionally, individuals who did not appear to have struggles previously may have learned to compensate for hidden weaknesses over the years. However as the demands within an individual’s environments become increasingly more difficult, these struggles may begin to become more apparent.
Psychological/ psycho-educational assessments are also beneficial for post-secondary students. If the assessment results in a diagnosis, the Canadian Student Grants Program may provide financial assistance for them. Check with your college or university for how they can best support your learning.
How do I know if myself or my child should have a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment?
A physician, educator, or psychologist may have suggested that you seek out having a psychological or psycho-educational assessment completed for you or your child. Perhaps you may have concerns about behavioral, emotional, or academic struggles you have noticed about yourself or your child. You do not need a professional’s referral to have an assessment completed. Many people will enlist the services of a psychologist to have a formal assessment completed in order to discover the root cause of a multitude of behavioral, emotional, and academic concerns. A psychological or psycho-educational assessment may be beneficial for you if you or your child consistently display behaviors and attitudes that are similar to the following.
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Loss of interest in school or work as a whole
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New or increasingly low academic performance and/ or discrepancies in grades achieved (such as differences between numeracy and literacy skills/ grades)
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Feeling overwhelmed or anxious at school/ work or having feelings that you (or your child) are "bad at school/ work"
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Complaints about workload or difficulties completing school work, employment requirements or other tasks in a timely manner
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Difficulty with attention and/ or behavior at home, school, or work
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Elevated difficulties with grasping new concepts, struggling to learn and/or understand basic intellectual, social, or behavioral skills at an age appropriate level
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Requiring an elevated level of assistance in order to complete tasks in an organized, effective, or efficient manner
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Feelings of distress, poor self-concept, sadness, or low motivation
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Difficulties making and maintaining appropriate peer relationships or feelings of “not fitting in”
Although you or your child may not have appeared to be facing these difficulties earlier in life, this does not necessarily mean that you or your child is “just lazy”, “being defiant”, or “going through a phase”.
If any of the above or similar struggles are apparent on a regular basis, a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment may help in identifying any underlying causes of you or your child’s difficulties.
What is involved in a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment?
Both full psychological/ psycho-educational assessments as well as brief assessments will include the following:
An initial 1 hour intake session
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If this session is for a child it will be attended by only parent(s)/ guardian(s), with no children present.
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At this session, a clinical interview will be completed, you will go over information from the completed intake form, and gather additional information relating to you (or your child.).
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Current medications being taken will be discussed at this session, as some medications will alter the individuals neurological and psychological abilities. Due to this, it may be requested that these are not taken in order to achieve an accurate level of functioning for the individual.
Interpretation, analysis, scoring, and documentation of
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Clinical interviews, observations and other information gathered during the assessment process, additional interviews with people who may provide relevant information in regards to your (or the child's) levels of functioning (teachers, partner, etc.).
A printed copy of the formal psychological report
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This potentially includes:
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Written analysis of any standardized methods of assessment administered.
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Any applicable diagnoses being given.
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Recommendations that are specifically targeted to address the unique strengths and challenges of the person being assessed.
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The recommendations provided will be tailored towards various applicable environments such as personal, familial, and educational/ employment settings.
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The following will differ depending on if a full psychological/ psycho-educational assessment or a brief assessment is being completed :
Testing sessions
A Full Psychological/ Psycho-educational Assessment involves 4 - 6 hours of testing sessions
A Brief Psychological/ Psychological Assessment involves 2 -3 hours of testing sessions
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These sessions will be either 1 or 2 hours long. The quantity and duration of testing sessions will vary depending on the needs of the individual being assessed.
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Over the course of the assessment sessions, a formal evaluation of intellectual, emotional, behavioral, and attentional functioning is completed in order to provide a potential diagnosis and/ or recommendations relating to the presence of any neurological or psychological deficits or proficiency.
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This includes the administration of standardized methods of assessment, clinical interviews, and observation.
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The specific tools and standardized methods of assessment that will be used will be dependent on the needs of the individual being assessed. After your initial intake session, your psychologist will determine if you (or your child) may require supplemental methods of assessment to be administered.
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Any additional costs relating to supplemental assessment methods will be discussed prior to these methods being administered.
A final debrief session
Full Psychological/ Psycho-educational Assessment - 2 hours
Brief Psychological/ Psychological Assessment - 1 hour
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This will be scheduled with your psychologist approximately 3 weeks after the last session of administered standardized methods of assessment is completed.
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If a child is being assessed, this debrief session is once again only attended by parent(s)/ guardian(s) in order to be forthcoming with information/ not filtering it for age appropriate understandings.
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During this session, your psychologist will review the results and recommendations given within the formal report.
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They will also answer any questions you may have in regards to the results of the assessment or for potential next steps moving forward.
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What does a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment cost?
The fee for a full formal psychological/ psycho-educational assessment with DC Psychological Services starts at $3080, typically taking 14 hours to complete.
The fee for a brief psychological/ psycho-educational assessment starts at $1760, typically taking 8 hours to complete.
These fees are all inclusive and are billed at a rate of $220 per hour. DC Psychological Services fees are set based on the current Psychologists' Association of Alberta (PAA) "Recommended Fee Schedule".
Occasionally, throughout the process of administering standardized methods of assessment, it is indicated that the individual may need supplemental methods of assessment, thus requiring additional time. Any additional costs relating to supplemental testing will be discussed prior to these methods being administered. Although less frequent, your psychologist may determine that less time is required for completing the assessment, and your (or your child's) schedule, along with related fees will be adjusted accordingly.
The fee for formal psychological/ psycho-educational assessment includes: administration, scoring, and analysis of: observations, standardized measures, and clinical interviews; as well as the final debriefing session. Assessment fees will be adjusted accordingly dependent on individual needs and based on the specific standardized methods used as detailed above.
The specifics of billing and the timing of sessions will be discussed at the time of booking.
Occasionally, an individual may require the completion of one or more formal letters, insurance or other forms, and/ or applications to specific funding programs. DC Psychological Services is able to complete these on behalf of the client for an additional fee starting at $100 per form. The final cost for these services will be prorated dependent on the time required for completion based on our hourly rate of $220 per hour. We do not bill directly to insurance providers for document completion. Please enquire with our office if you require DC Psychological Services to complete any forms and/or letters.
What is the process for scheduling an assessment with DC Psychological Services?
Once you have decided that you would like to schedule a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment for yourself (or your child), please contact our office.
We will obtain contact information and get started on the set up of an account for you (or your child). Our office will answer any questions you may have, and arrange a schedule for your (or your child's) assessment based on the availability of the psychologist and the client. We will also provide information regarding intake and consent forms.
DC Psychological Services requires a deposit of $220 when scheduling both full and brief psychological/ psycho-educational assessments. This deposit will remain as a credit on your account until you attend your (or your child's) debrief session. At this time it can either be applied to the cost of your (or your child's) debrief session, or refunded to the original payment method.
Completion of our Formal Assessment Processes, Payments & Insurance Consents form, along with payment of the $220 deposit is required within 3 business days of our office providing your assessment schedule in order to confirm and retain your assessment booking schedule.
If you no longer require an assessment to be completed, and you choose to cancel your (or your child's) schedule, we require at least one week’s notice to cancel an assessment schedule. If you cancel less than one week prior to the scheduled intake session, the deposit will be used as a cancellation fee. If you cancel more than one week prior to the assessment intake session, your deposit will be refunded.
DC Psychological Services requires that you put a credit card on file within 3 business days of scheduling with our office. Please log in to your Jane.app account to add your credit card information. Jane Payments is PCI compliant and meets the highest security standard to ensure your credit card data is never at risk. This card will be used to apply the required deposit of $220. If you are unable to provide a credit card, please contact our office in order to make arrangements to pay your deposit.
Contact our office to schedule a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment.
Questions to ask your insurance provider
DC Psychological Services can bill directly to these insurance providers on your behalf
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Greenshield Canada
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Alberta Blue Cross
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Canada Life
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Claim Secure
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First Canadian
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NIHB
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BPA
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Manion
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Johnston Group
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Desjardins Insurance
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GroupSource
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Canadian Construction Workers Union
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The Co-Operators
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D.A. Townley
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People Corporation
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GroupHEALTH
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LiUNA Local 506
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CINUP
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MaximumBenefit
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Beneva
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IndustrialAlliance
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Liuna Local183
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Coughlin & Associates
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Chambers of Commerce
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Possible others not listed
*Subject to Insurance Provider approval
It is recommended that you contact your insurance company prior to booking a psychological/ psycho-educational assessment to ensure you are aware of the availability of coverage for your specific insurance plan and to verify the following information. This information will be beneficial when arranging your (or your child's) appointment schedule.
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Does your coverage include Psychological Services?
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Does your coverage have a yearly maximum amount for psychological services?
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Is there a daily maximum amount that will be covered?
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Is there separate coverage available for therapy vs assessments vs report writing?
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Does your insurance provider allow psychologists to bill for services to them directly?
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Do you have health care spending available that can be used for psychological services?
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Do you have secondary coverage available?
In order to provide direct billing through your insurance company, we will require the following information:
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Insurance Provider's Name
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Group Number
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Policy/ ID Number
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Plan member name, date of birth, and phone number
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Client's relationship to the plan member
