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Reasons for Psychological Evaluation

Psychological evaluations are used to evaluate a person's mental health and to diagnose mental illness. Applicants who apply for certain employment are required to have a psychological evaluation. In addition, a court could order an individual to have an evaluation to determine competency, and a school can give a student an evaluation to determine if there is mental illness or learning disabilities.

  1. Employment

    • Psychological evaluations are given to job applicants to determine suitability for a position. An evaluation can determine if the job applicant has a mental or emotional condition that could interfere with employment performance. The evaluation can measure things such as stress resilience, anger management and social competence.

    Court Competency

    • A court may require a person to undergo a psychological evaluation to determine competency. The court can use the evaluation to determine whether the involved party is mentally able to understand a trial and to assist his lawyers in their defense of him. Even if there are mental issues, this does not guarantee that a defendant will not go on trial. However, this determination could assist the court in prescribing appropriate treatments.

    Education

    • A school may give a student an evaluation to understand and address the learning needs of an individual. It can be requested by a parent, school personnel or a student. The information received from the evaluation can inform teachers and psychologists about how a student learns and behaves, or it may detect a mental health condition that needs to be addressed. Psychological evaluations administered by a school are done by a licensed psychologist or a credentialed school psychologist.

    Mental Health

    • Evaluations can be given to individuals to identify a specific mental health problem. An individual who may have a mental health issue should have testing done to determine what type of treatment may be beneficial. Psychological evaluations can also identify stressors that could lead to mental illness.

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