What is the Difference Between a Neuropsychological and a Psychological Evaluation?
A neuropsychological or psychological evaluation is a great place to start to come up with a proper diagnosis and a specific treatment plan. Neuropsychologists and psychologists perform comprehensive evaluations that take into account multiple factors that might be leading to a person’s symptoms, including medical history, psychosocial factors, medication side effects, and psychodiagnostic test profiles.
Neuropsychologists are trained in learning about both psychiatric conditions as well as neurological conditions, and may be ideal in performing more complex evaluations in which there may be a question about differentiating between psychiatric and neurologic conditions. Neuropsychological evaluations at PNBC are conducted by board-certified or board-eligible neuropsychologists who have received specialized training in neurologic conditions, psychometrics, and proper interpretation of neuropsychological tests.
Similarly, a psychological evaluation focuses on comprehensive and objective evaluation of a person’s mood, behavior, and personality. The difference from neuropsychological evaluations is that psychological evaluation does not include the comprehensive assessment of cognitive functioning. A psychological evaluation is useful to determine an appropriate psychiatric diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.