What is the difference between a psychological assessment and a psychiatric assessment?

Not a whole lot. I think the difference is the medical piece. A psychological assessment is when they work with you to help you deal with your problems. A psychiatric assessment does this too but also looks at actual mental illnesses that might need different treatment and/or meds. They might also look at possible physical issues that might be contributing to the problems. A psychologist is not a medical doctor, a psychiatrist is.

A psychiatric assessment is done by a psychiatrist, who is a medical doctor and can prescribe medication. A psychological assessment is done by a psychologist, who is not a medical doctor and cannot prescribe medication.

1.Psychological Assessment:
*Conducted by a licensed professional (often master-level clinicians like counselors or social workers).
*Aims to provide a broad overview of an individual’s mental health.
*Screens for various conditions, including: depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, ptsd, attention deficit, phobias, and more, based on the DSM-5 manual used by mental health professionals.
*Typically briefer than psychiatric evaluations and costs about one-third to one-fifth as much.
*The evaluator considers factors like: history, family of origin, physical and mental health, occupation, relationships, hobbies, overall satisfaction with life.
*Provides recommendations for treatment if appropriate.
*Often requested by: prosecutors, defense attorneys, plaintiff’s counsel, judges, probation officers

2.Psychiatric Assessment:
*Similar to a psychological assessment but goes into greater depth regarding cognitive and mental health.
*Explores how an individual’s personality manifests in daily living and relationships.
*Includes discussions about: family, social, medical, and substance use history
*Unveils:
>Possible signs of mental health and cognitive disorders.
>How a person navigates life and relationships in the context of these disorders.
>Coping mechanisms.
*Produces a more detailed report, takes longer to accomplish, and costs between $1500 and $3000, depending on local norms and case context. Child custody cases may be on the higher end of this cost due to the need for a comprehensive history.

In summary, while both assessments contribute valuable insights, psychological assessments focus on a broader overview of mental health, while psychiatric assessments delve deeper into cognitive and personality aspects.

Psychiatric assessments include more physiological/medical information.

What is a psychiatric evaluation? It is done by a psychiatrist who is a physician with special psychiatry training (courses and residencies). This evaluation is comprehensive but medical in nature. Expect the person to ask for your physical, behavioral, and cognitive histories, order blood tests or other medical exams, evaluate (by observation and interview) your mood, your reality testing, and mental status etc. Ultimately, after an extensive (and usually expensive) interview, the doctor will arrive at a psychiatric diagnosis (if appropriate) and may also recommend medicines to help with the problem–which they can prescribe. A few also provide ongoing talk therapy but most do not. Rather, they recommend you find a therapist for that part. They will follow up with med checks as needed to titrate or refine your medicines. When a person has a very difficult, complex, or lengthy history of mental health, or, when the person is needing a diagnosis for legal reasons, a psychiatrist is a good choice. They are usually gifted at extracting subtle physical and behavioral matters that may help correctly pinpoint the problem. While a person might well get anti-depressants from their regular doctor, a good psychiatrist is better able to deal with complex matters and follow you more closely to get the right compound and dosage.

Psychological Evaluation, AKA testing, psych assessment. These are offered, mostly, by doctoral level psychologists. These evaluations will cover much of the same history, mental status, and provide diagnoses when appropriate. Interviews, just like the previous two options, are essential. However, what sets psychological evaluation apart is its use of standardized tests. These may be paper and pencil or electronic. They may be filled out by the client or by family members. The results provide a snapshot of behavior, or cognitive functioning, or mood by contrasting the individual results against a peer group. For example, a child may complete a computerized test to assess attention span. The results are compared to thousands of children taking this test who either are “non ADHD” and or ADHD. A good psychologist collects data from multiple data points (test data, interviews by client and maybe family, observations, etc.) and uses that data to make interpretations and recommendations for ongoing care. Usually, the best psychological evaluations begin with a very objective, specific question. Just throwing a bunch of tests at a person to “see what comes up” isn’t all that helpful. Just because something pops up doesn’t mean it is meaningful.

It is true that masters level therapists (licensed or not) give and interpret some tests. But most of the best tests can only be given and interpreted by doctoral level, licensed psychologists.

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