What is a Psychological Assessment?

Why do you need to see a psychologist? It is even necessary? The previous generations never had to see a psychologist and they were okay... so, is something wrong with the current generation?

I am sure all of us have asked ourselves these questions at least once in our lives. 

I have no definitive answers to these questions.  But what I do know as a clinical psychologist is this: 

- The way we think shapes our behaviour and the way we think stems from our belief system.

- Both our family of origin and our environment contribute to these beliefs directly or indirectly.

- Maladaptive beliefs about ourselves and others lead to cognitive distortions (maladaptive thinking patterns).

- Identifying and challenging these distortions can lead to positive changes in the way we think. This in turn, can change the way we behave.

- Behaviour is mostly learned.  What is learned can be unlearned.  This is where you exercise your CHOICE. We always have a CHOICE.

The unlearning can take a bit of time. Trained psychologists can help you with the unlearning. Their role is to provide a safe place to explore your thinking patterns without the fear of being judged.  They can help you identify thought distortions and also, figure out where these distortions are coming from. This process is called psycho diagnostics.

Psycho diagnostics or a psychological assessment is a process psychologists use to understand how a person functions at both the conscious and the unconscious levels. These assessments help them understand how you deal with stressful situations, other life events and to a large extent understand the cause for your presenting complaints.

The techniques used for the assessment are

1.     Strategic questioning through formal and informal interviews

2.     Assessment questionnaires

3.     Projective techniques

4.     Observation

The initial session can last anywhere between 40 minutes to 90 minutes.

If you are struggling with a problem and need help dealing with it, you can call

94878 64894 or email connect2choice@gmail.com