Individualised psychological and behavioural assessment services
We provide a comprehensive psychological assessment service. Our individualised assessments focus on developing an enhanced understanding of the difficulties that may be preventing a positive and productive life for an individual. Ultimately, this aims to identify a supportive care pathway. The psychological assessments undertaken are varied and bespoke based on need. Some examples include:
- Harmful sexual behaviour
- Risk assessment
- Child sexual exploitation
- Adult sexual exploitation
- Child criminal exploitation
- Cognitive functioning
- Deliberate self-injury
- General aggression
- General psychological well-being
- Stress and coping
- Substance misuse
Expectations for psychological assessments
We aim to ensure all assessments are comprehensive and follow recommended guidelines regarding to content, structure and general presentation. For example, this aims to adhere to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). To this end, you can expect all psychological assessments to:
- Have relevant links to theory and be scientifically grounded in suitable literature that is current
- Be tailored to individual needs and instruction questions
- Use structured clinical guides for risk issues when appropriate
- Offer appropriate evidence to support opinions
- Be completed in a timely fashion
- Make note of ethical guidelines for good practice (e.g. Health Care Professions Council, www.hcpc-uk.org/)
- Be accessible in understanding for all professional groups and others who require access to the assessment report
- Be undertaken by qualified individuals (e.g. Registered psychologists, qualified psychotherapists)
- Draw on admissibility criteria for
expert evidence that has been developed elsewhere and is regarded as exemplary
practice – the ‘Daubert criteria’. This means that:
- The theory or technique utilised in the assessment must be testable
- It has been subject to peer review
- It has a known or potential error rate (that is, to get it wrong)
- The theory and technique is generally accepted by a relevant scientific community
Report writers’ profiles
Staff who complete our psychological assessments are very experienced and act at a consultant level. They all have extensive practice in conducting psychological assessments and are well versed in completing comprehensive assessments that are accessible and add value. All our staff have undertaken specific training in effective assessment completion and report writing. A number of our senior staff have published in the area of psychological assessments and/or have extensive publication backgrounds that are relevant.
All staff who complete psychological assessments are members of their relevant professional bodies, and ensure any continuing professional development needs are met. They also undertake supervision to ensure quality standards are maintained.