Can you get more than one psych eval?

I just want answers and unfortunately the psych i found cant take appts and the other is unavailable until further notice. Is it worth getting a diagnosis if i cant do anything about it now? I feel like the second psych may want to do their own assessment as Id be a new client. ( they are both specialists in the specific disorder I’m looking into). Can i be evaluated twice? Can a second psych use the first’s findings or will they want to determine on their own? Should I wait until the second one is available so i dont waste time/money?? This has been exhausting...

You can be evaluated by every pdoc you ever see as a patient. I suppose they'll use previous evaluations, but every pdoc I've seen wants to do their own assessment based upon your current symptoms.

Most of my doctors have wanted to do their own evaluation. One pdoc used my gp's reports which I thought was horrible! A gp is not a specialist! So we operated for a long time under the assumptions my gp had made. Not that she was completely wrong, but she totally missed the psychosis part. Totally changed my diagnosis when a different doctor did the evaluation.

I have one specialist available but she cant treat, only assess right now. But the one who can do both doesnt have openings yet. So i was tryna figure out if i should go to the first one so maybe i can get results and when the second is available i can sort of skip the intro process as id have results already ( if she had faith in the person who conducted the assessment) but if shes gonna redo her own, id rather not waste my money now ya know :/...

Yeah, I think most doctors want to do their own assessment. At least the good ones do anyway.

here in america yes anyone can get more than one psych eval. its called getting a "second opinion" when someone gets a diagnosis from one doctor then wants to get another assessment done.

the hard part though is that here in america all americans are supposed to have health insurance (its a law here) insurance companies usually require a certain amount of time to pass before they will pay for another health assessment. add to that part of america going to an all americans must have insurance plans. each insurance company usually but not always designates on that persons files a PCP (primary care physician) a mental health agency and a dental agency. sometimes people can choose their own sometimes they cant, it all depends upon what insurance package a person has. and typically theres a waiting list for changing treatment providers.

yes people can pay out of their own pockets if they wish. but psych evaluations here in america are expensive.

part of getting a "second opinion" here is usually releasing records of any past or your most recent psych evaluation. that way the new treatment provider can assess things like improvements or declines and recommend treatments that may work better than what you presently are on.

my suggestion if you are here in america contact your insurance company to find out if they will pay for you to do another psych eval or whether you will have to pay out of pocket, then contact your treatment providers and tell them whether you want to get a second opinion or if you would like to sign release of information forms so that the old therapist can send your files to your new therapist.

I personally go with releasing my files from one treatment provider to another unless its been 2 years since the last one. if my last psych eval is at least 2 years old I contact my insurance company and jump through their hoops so that they will pay for the assessment.