Psychological Assessments

Being involved in a motor vehicle accident can be extremely stressful.  In addition to your physical injuries, the events of the accident and the effects of the aftermath can cause psychological injuries which rival the physical ones. Having a traumatic experience, witnessing the injury or death of another motorist, dealing with the loss of a vehicle or having to fight with your insurance company over benefits, and trying to return to normal activities of daily living while dealing with driving anxiety and depression related to the physical pain of your injuries are just some of the psychological injuries which are common after a motor vehicle accident.  At Prime Healthcare our goal with the Psychological Assessment is to provide our patients with an accurate, clear, and logical interpretation of their concerns about the past, present, and future while offering the necessary psychological and educational support.

A Psychological Assessment is a type of assessment that involves making an informed psychological judgment about an individual's mental and emotional concerns, particularly after a motor vehicle accident. There is an expression “can’t see the forest through the trees”.  What this expression means is that day-to-day people typically are reacting to the events and circumstances which are currently before them, and often we cannot reflect on and effectively process what effect these events have on us.  They mold us daily, but without reflection, we lack control over whether they change us positively or negatively.   Preparing and creating a psychological evaluation is like generating a story of an individual's psychological experience – in effect showing the forest and allowing us to generate a path or route to a better future instead of running into the future blind.

 The Psychological Assessments are performed by a psychologist, so they can gain an understanding of the duration and severity of the symptoms and make a diagnosis. These evaluations help the psychologist and the patient develop a better understanding regarding whether or not the patient has a particular condition or disorder and how to plot a path through the forest and move forward with their lives.

 The common components that are involved in a Psychological Assessment include tests and surveys, interviews, observational data, medical evaluations, medical history, and school history. It is recommended by psychologists for patients to take Psychological Assessments if they are experiencing changes in mood, nervousness, problems with concentration, difficulty when completing normal tasks, and social withdrawals, amongst many other conditions.