Psychological Evaluation Services
Purpose of Assessment:
The primary purpose of the psychological assessment is to evaluate various aspects of your child’s psychological functioning, including but not limited to intelligence, academic skills, emotional well-being, social skills, and behavior. The assessment will help us understand your child’s unique strengths and areas of difficulty, and will guide recommendations for interventions and support.
Nature of Assessment:
The assessment process typically involves a variety of tools and techniques, including standardized tests, interviews, observations, and questionnaires. These methods may vary depending on the specific concerns and goals of the assessment. The assessment will be conducted by qualified professionals who have expertise in child and adolescent psychology.
Confidentiality:
Confidentiality is of utmost importance throughout the assessment process. Information gathered during the assessment will be kept confidential and will only be shared with individuals directly involved in your child’s care, including the school district staff who have requested the evaluation, unless otherwise required by law. We will discuss the limits of confidentiality with you before beginning the assessment.
Voluntary Participation:
Participation in the assessment process is entirely voluntary. You have the right to refuse or withdraw your consent at any time without any negative consequences for you or your child. Your decision regarding participation will not affect the services provided to you or your child in any way.
Benefits and Risks:
Participating in the assessment can provide valuable information that may lead to a better understanding of your child’s needs and inform recommendations for interventions and support. However, it is important to acknowledge that assessment results may not always provide clear-cut answers and may not fully capture your child’s strengths and challenges. There may also be a temporary increase in stress or discomfort for your child during certain aspects of the assessment process.
Feedback and Recommendations:
Following the assessment, the school district staff will be provided with feedback on the results, including a comprehensive report outlining the findings and recommendations. If permitted by the school district, I will also schedule a feedback session with you. This feedback session will provide an opportunity for you to ask questions and discuss any concerns you may have.
PROFESSIONAL FEES
Your child’s school district has agreed to pay my professional fees in full for this evaluation. Therefore, you will not be financially responsible for the evaluation. It is important to note that because the school district is paying for the evaluation, they have full access to and ownership of the final report. All results of the evaluation will be shared with the school district upon completion of the evaluation.
Additionally, I will be involved in any school district meetings to the degree requested by the school district staff.
CONTACTING YOUR PROVIDER
Psychologists and therapists are often not immediately available by telephone. Our phone is answered by our intake coordinator who can get a message to us quickly. You are welcome to leave a message for us at the office’s confidential line (630-717-5911) or you can contact via email. We will make every effort to return your call and emails within 2 business days. If you are difficult to reach, please inform us of some times when you will be available. If you are unable to reach us and feel that you cannot wait for a returned call, contact your family physician or the nearest emergency room and ask for the psychologist or psychiatrist on call. If we will be unavailable for an extended time, we will provide you with the name of a colleague to contact, if necessary.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Parent Authorization for Minor’s Mental Health Treatment
In order to authorize a psychological evaluation for your child, you must have either sole or joint legal custody of your child. If you are separated or divorced from the other parent of your child, please notify us immediately. We will ask you to provide me with a copy of the most recent custody decree that establishes custody rights of you and the other parent or otherwise demonstrates that you have the right to authorize treatment for your child.
If you are separated or divorced from the child’s other parent, please be aware that it is our policy to notify the other parent that we am evaluating your child. We believe it is important that all parents have the right to know, unless there are truly exceptional circumstances, that their child is receiving mental health evaluation.
Mandatory Disclosures of Treatment Information
In some situations, we are required by law or by the guidelines of my profession to disclose information, whether or not we have your or your child’s permission. Some of these situations are below.
Confidentiality cannot be maintained when:
- Child patients tell us they plan to cause serious harm or death to themselves, and we believe they have the intent and ability to carry out this threat in the very near future. We must take steps to inform a parent or guardian or others of what the child has told us and how serious we believe this threat to be and to try to prevent the occurrence of such harm.
- Child patients tell us they plan to cause serious harm or death to someone else, and we believe they have the intent and ability to carry out this threat in the very near future. In this situation, we must inform a parent or guardian or others, and we may be required to inform the person who is the target of the threatened harm [and the police].
- Child patients are doing things that could cause serious harm to them or someone else, even if they do not intend to harm themselves or another person. In these situations, we will need to use professional judgment to decide whether a parent or guardian should be informed.
- Child patients tell us, or we otherwise learn that, it appears that a child is being neglected or abused–physically, sexually or emotionally–or that it appears that they have been neglected or abused in the past. In this situation, we may be required by law to report the alleged abuse to the appropriate state child-protective agency.
- We are ordered by a court to disclose information.
Disclosure of Minor’s Treatment Records to Parents
Although the laws of IL may give parents the right to see any written records kept about your child’s treatment, by signing this agreement, you are agreeing that your child or teen should have a “zone of privacy” in their meetings with us, and you agree not to request access to your child’s written treatment records, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Parent/Guardian Agreement Not to Use Minor’s Therapy Information/Records in Custody Litigation
When a family is in conflict, particularly conflict due to parental separation or divorce, it is very difficult for everyone, particularly for children. Although our responsibility to your child may require my helping to address conflicts between the child’s parents, our role will be strictly limited to providing an evaluation for your child. You agree that in any child custody/visitation proceedings, neither of you will seek to subpoena records or ask the psychologist to testify in court, whether in person or by affidavit, or to provide letters or documentation expressing opinions about parental fitness or custody/visitation arrangements. Please note that we do not provide forensic evaluations related to child custody, and our reports should not be used for this purpose. Please note that your agreement may not prevent a judge from requiring our testimony, even though we will not do so unless legally compelled. If required to testify, we are ethically bound not to give opinions about either parent’s custody, visitation suitability, or fitness. If the court appoints a custody evaluator, guardian ad litem, or parenting coordinator, we will provide information as needed, if appropriate releases are signed or a court order is provided, but we will not make any recommendation about the final decision(s). Furthermore, if required to appear as a witness or to otherwise perform work related to any legal matter, the party responsible for our participation agrees to reimburse us at the rate of $160 per hour for time spent traveling, speaking with attorneys, reviewing and preparing documents, testifying, being in attendance, and any other case-related costs.