Clinical Assessment
Clinical psychological assessment serves many purposes, including evaluating cognitive functioning, determining an individual’s need for support and accommodation, and aiding in treatment planning. Dr. Guarino has extensive experience conducting assessments in a variety of treatment settings, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, college counseling centers, county mental health agencies, and in private practice. Currently, Dr. Guarino offers the following assessment services:
Cognitive Assessment
Many conditions can impact a person’s concentration, memory, and reasoning abilities, resulting in slowed, inconsistent, or otherwise impaired performance across a range of tasks and settings. Dr. Guarino relies on well-validated instruments to elucidate the nature and severity of a person’s challenges. Conclusions drawn from these evaluations can help inform diagnoses and inform interventions aimed at improving functioning.
Psychodiagnostic / Personality Assessment
The symptoms of different mental illnesses and varieties of psychiatric distress often overlap, complicating the diagnostic picture. Dr. Guarino integrates information from a thorough clinical interview, careful review of the client’s history, and a thoughtful selection of assessment instruments. Taken together, these data can help clarify an individual’s personal experience, perceptions of self and others, behavioral patterns, ways of coping, and social and emotional strengths. Ultimately, these findings can facilitate diagnosis and treatment planning.
Accommodations and Placement
Individual learners have unique needs and challenges. Dr. Guarino provides assessments to diagnose specific difficulties like Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and recommend classroom and standardized testing accommodations. Additionally, Dr. Guarino’s familiarity and competence with measures of intellectual functioning enable him to conduct assessments to aid placement in gifted programming and intellectual societies, like Mensa.