Jason Turret

Date of Award

6-20-2016

Document Type

Undergraduate Capstone Project

Degree Name

Psy.D.

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Hale Martin

Second Advisor

Laura Meyer

Third Advisor

Erin Jacklin

Keywords

Psychological assessment, Practicing psychologists, Attitudes, Beliefs, Behaviors

Abstract

Recent research has documented the effectiveness, benefits, and value of psychological assessment, yet the use of psychological assessment is declining. To better understand why an effective treatment intervention is being underutilized, this project sought to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of practicing psychologists regarding psychological assessment. The investigators of this study surveyed 26 psychologists who are members of a statewide association of psychologists in the western United States. Results revealed that 96% of participants enjoyed their graduate training in psychological assessment and 93% of participants view psychological assessment as valuable, yet 78% believed that psychological assessment was underutilized. Participants were most likely to refer for neuropsychological testing followed by cognitive testing, personality testing, Therapeutic Assessment, and vocational testing. The price of psychological testing was by far the strongest deterrent to a professional from making a referral. Other deterrents with some influence included the time involved and not knowing good assessors to refer to for an assessment. Most participants surveyed had little or no knowledge of Therapeutic Assessment. Recommendations for increasing the use of this valuable resource for health care providers are provided.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Extent

25 pages

Download



Share

COinS