Psychological Assessment 101

Stuttering has received national attention lately thanks to a brave 13-year-old who spoke at a national convention and revealed he struggles with this issue. Many people have a general understanding of stuttering, but it is a complex issue that deserves more attention. Stuttering is a condition that is characterized as a speech and language disorder. It affects approximately 5-10 percent of children and typically emerges between ages 2 and 6. Stuttering can include repeating parts [...]

Early on, dyslexia and other reading challenges were believed to be caused by visual deficits. The belief was that struggling readers were unable to visually process what they were seeing and that that interfered with their reading fluency and comprehension. To combat this, opticians began offering “vision therapy,” an intervention aimed at correcting visual deficiencies and strengthening optical function. While uncorrected visual impairments (such as myopia, or “near-sightedness”) can interfere with reading and academic performance [...]

People of all ages can participate in testing, although certain types of assessment are not recommended for children under age 6. Psychologists offer many different types of assessment, including psychological, educational, neuropsychological, forensic, and vocational. This blog will focus on psychological and educational testing, since these are offered at Four Corners Psychological Services. Psychological Testing – As discussed in previous blogs, psychological testing consists of interviews and test measures designed to identify mental health symptoms [...]

*Please note this blog is intended to present information about treatment options for depression and relevant new research. These are not recommendations, and treatment decisions should be made by you and your healthcare provider. For some individuals with depression, finding the proper medication regimen can be nearly impossible. The depression may be so severe that medication alone is simply insufficient, or the side effects of medication make compliance an ongoing struggle. Some individuals have tried [...]

The American Psychological Association (APA) has conducted an annual study for decades on stress in America. This year, their study coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which captured the specific stressors related to this unprecedented situation. Not surprisingly, two prominent findings from this year’s study were parental stress and pessimism about the future. During the pandemic, most schools transitioned to remote learning, leaving parents responsible for overseeing their child’s or children’s education from home. At the [...]