EVALUATIONS

There are many reasons why people have a difficult time with emotional regulation. Sometimes, development, trauma, or poor insight makes us blind to what we feel, why we feel it, or how to express our feelings. Often, reactions are visceral and physiological, and since our brains are conditioned to react, we may not handle things in an effective way. Emotional or behavioral evaluations can give information on the cause of specific behaviors and help clients, loved ones, parents, and educators, understand the root causes of specific behaviors and needs. Once insight is gained, targeted interventions can be formulated to help the client communicate needs more effectively and resolve problems in a healthier manner.

Childhood grief, depression, social, and other anxieties, as well as more serious disorders, can manifest differently in children than in adults. The signs of these and other emotional issues also vary from one child to another. Often, withdrawal, behavioral problems, social issues and school or occupational problems can be signs of emotional and behavioral issues in children, teens, and adults.

In adults, normal grief or adjustment reactions can turn into more serious, emotional disturbances, if not dealt with appropriately. For example, grief may be further complicated by trauma or by the intersection of the grief reaction to a specific developmental state. This increases the likelihood of it turning into a complicated or prolonged grief disorder, affecting your life more profoundly by deteriorating your overall mental health and prognosis/ disposition. By better understanding how we subconsciously cope with loss, stress, and our environment, we can be better equipped to manage stress. This type of evaluation gives us insight to our strengths and weaknesses and may answer diagnostic questions leading to more effective treatment. The key to effective treatment is understanding the underlying cause of the emotional or behavioral problem, creating a specific plan for treatment and providing a safe and nurturing environment for the client to grow and learn.

Emotional and behavioral assessments are specifically tailored to the issue at hand, but may include:

• An overall intellectual assessment
• Projective & Objective Psychological Tests
• Parent and/or teacher questionnaires

The benefits for testing include understanding the way an individual processes his environment, how he copes, and his primary defense mechanisms. It gives an “x-ray” of both his subconscious and conscious methods of coping and defense mechanisms as well as often identifying the root cause of problems, past trauma, and gives us an understanding of how the client will best heal. Test results offer suggestions, recommendations for treatment and disposition and outcome expectancies.