RT Book, Section A1 Walker, James S. A1 Roback, Howard B. A1 Welch, Larry A2 Ebert, Michael H. A2 Loosen, Peter T. A2 Nurcombe, Barry A2 Leckman, James F. SR Print(0) ID 3281316 T1 Chapter 6. Psychological and Neuropsychological Assessment T2 CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Psychiatry, 2e YR 2008 FD 2008 PB The McGraw-Hill Companies PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-142292-5 LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=3281316 RD 2022/08/09 AB Psychological evaluation in the psychiatric context generally refers to measurements from psychological testing (in addition to the utilization of information from the history and traditional mental status examination), made for the purpose of helping delineate and clarify a patient's psychopathology. Psychological testing is frequently requested to address specific clinical issues such as the patient's need for hospitalization, personality factors complicating Axis I symptoms, the possible presence of malingering, identification of major therapeutic issues, the patient's potential for suicide, his or her primary defense mechanisms and coping style, and the most appropriate discharge options. The child psychiatrist may need to rule out neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation with cognitive testing. Questions a psychiatrist may ask in a neuropsychological referral are typically related to the role of possible central nervous system dysfunction in a patient's pathology and its impact on daily functioning. For example, does a patient have dementia or pseudodementia, is a patient's behavioral or emotional dyscontrol the result of personality factors or impaired central nervous system mechanisms that modulate such reactions, and what is the extent of organic damage and associated cognitive impairment? In addition to clarifying the diagnosis and assisting in treatment planning, psychological testing can play an important role in outcome assessment by helping to document the effectiveness of the treatment provided to a given patient.