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 2025/07/10
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.