[Ellahmae]

I have an appointment (first time) with a pdoc coming up where he will be giving me a psychological evaluation and I'm beyond anxious/nervous/terrified for it. I have no idea what to expect or what the first appointment will be. Can anyone offer any insights?

[Mygrandjourney]

Originally Posted by Ellahmae

I have an appointment (first time) with a pdoc coming up where he will be giving me a psychological evaluation and I'm beyond anxious/nervous/terrified for it. I have no idea what to expect or what the first appointment will be. Can anyone offer any insights?

It is usually a combination of forms, psychologist administered tests and an interview and can take several hours, sometimes two or three appointments to gather all the data from testing. Then the psychologist will analyze the results of the tests and write an extensive report. It can provide a pretty accurate diagnosis (or set of diagnoses) for people with hard to treat issues, so it might be worth it.

Do you know how long it's supposed to take? That can give you an idea if it will be just collecting personal information plus asking questions about sleep, mood, etc. or if it will include some sort of psychological testing.

[Ellahmae]

I actually have no idea how long the appointment will be for. My T filled out most of my "history/why I need a pdoc" form for me. She requested a psych eval and possible meds. I need a medical doctor in the psych field on my 'team' for safety, etc. I hope it'll just be a history, get to know, etc type appointment and not a bunch of tests :/

Originally Posted by jo_thorne

Do you know how long it's supposed to take? That can give you an idea if it will be just collecting personal information plus asking questions about sleep, mood, etc. or if it will include some sort of psychological testing.

I hope it'll just be a history, get to know, etc type appointment and not a bunch of tests :/

It probably will be. It's usually a psychologist who does the "testing" type of evaluation.

[AnxietyMaster]

Don't think of it as an "evaluation" just think of it as them trying to get to know you!

P.S. My current pdoc did that type of eval for me at my first appointment. I was very glad that he took the time to be that thorough, rather than just talking to me for ten minutes then writing prescriptions.

[Crescent Moon]

This kind of evaluation can indeed tease out various psychological or psychiatric issues - distinguish between this one and that one. The good news about that is that it can guide treatment more accurately.

How long the testing is depends on how far he wants to go with it. If it's really thorough it can take several different appointments. It can include some type of intelligence testing, personality testing, projective testing (like Rorschach), and interviews.

I'd ask him for more details.