When people are struggling with their emotions and behaviors, they want to understand what is happening and what will help them. Typically they are already utilizing outpatient and/or inpatient mental health professionals and yet there is still some uncertainty around diagnosis or the best course of treatment. Patients or providers may feel stuck, unsure of how to make progress. A battery of psychological test provides a comprehensive look at this one individual in comparison to established databases and profiles. This approach yields greater depth and clarity of understanding about their particular complex of symptoms, interpersonal dynamics, subconscious relational patterns, defense mechanisms and how it all comes together in this particular life. In the context of evidence-based practice, this information provides valuable direction for providers to most effectively serve the patient.
Dr. Rivas leads the assessment team at FLCC and has personally provided hundreds of comprehensive psychological assessments for adolescents and adults. She has served adolescent and adult clients in all levels of care with a wide variety of presenting concerns and supervises doctoral level students in developing excellent psychological assessment skills. Dr. Rivas also provides pre-adoption psychological evaluations for prospective adoptive parents when this is required.
Cost & Insurance
A typical diagnostic battery uses 10 hours of professional time, billed at $200 per hour, for a total of $2,000. This may vary somewhat depending on the nature of the specific referral question. Patients who are paying out of pocket, or who have a copay, can use a health savings / flexible spending / credit card or check to pay. Reports are not released until payment has been received. Many insurances will have some provision of benefits for psychological testing. If the patient has this benefit and wishes to use it, the provider may have to submit clinical rationale for testing and await a reply. Insurance may approve all, some, or none of the testing cost. We are happy to provide a feedback session to review the report with the patient, providers, and/or family as requested. This is a separate charge from the assessment itself at $175 per hour, and again, may be covered by insurance.
Patients seeking a verification of benefits to find out what their insurance will cover for testing can do so by clicking here.
Timeline
We strive to have a maximum of 4 weeks from the initial referral to the completed report. Completing a typical battery takes approximately 4 hours of faec-to-face time with the patient, 2 hours of scoring tests and reviewing records, and another 4 hours of writing. Waiting for insurance approval may lengthen the timeline.
How to Schedule
Click here as a new patient and let us know you are seeking testing.
