Psychological Testing at Summit Therapy Center
Summit Therapy Center provides comprehensive psychological testing and evaluation for children, adolescents, and young adults. Our goal is to help families better understand emotional, behavioral, developmental, cognitive, and learning concerns and provide practical recommendations to support functioning at home, school, and in the community.
What to Expect from the Psychological Testing Process
Psychological evaluations typically involve 3–4 appointments:
- Initial Appointment: You will meet with Dr. Angela Wagenaar for approximately one hour. This appointment is used to discuss current concerns, relevant history, and the specific questions the evaluation should help answer.
- Testing Appointments: After the initial appointment and any required insurance authorization has been obtained, testing will be scheduled. Standardized testing may be administered by Dr. Wagenaar and/or Laura Johnson, MS, CSP. Testing is generally completed over 1–2 days, depending on the individual and the type of evaluation being completed.
- Results Appointment: Once testing has been completed and Dr. Wagenaar has reviewed and interpreted the findings, a feedback appointment will be scheduled to discuss the results, recommendations, and next steps.
The feedback appointment and written report are separate steps. Results and recommendations may be discussed during the feedback appointment before the written report is finalized. The completed written report may follow the feedback appointment by several weeks.
From the initial appointment through completion of the evaluation and written report, the full evaluation process may take up to 12 weeks. The exact timeline varies depending on insurance authorization, the type and complexity of testing needed, and scheduling availability.
Psychological Testing FAQ
What ages do you provide psychological testing for?
Summit Therapy Center specializes in psychological testing and evaluation for children, adolescents, and young adults, with our primary testing population generally age 25 and younger.
Because each person’s needs are different, age alone does not determine whether an evaluation is appropriate. If you are unsure whether our testing services are a good fit, please contact our office to discuss your needs.
What types of concerns can psychological testing help evaluate?
Psychological testing can provide a clearer understanding of a child, adolescent, or young adult’s emotional, behavioral, developmental, and cognitive functioning.
Evaluations may address concerns related to attention and executive functioning, autism and developmental differences, anxiety, mood, behavior, learning, adaptive functioning, and other areas affecting functioning at home, school, or in the community.
How long is the waitlist for psychological testing?
Our current estimated wait time for psychological testing is approximately 6 months.
Wait times may vary depending on the type of evaluation needed, scheduling availability, insurance requirements, and the complexity of the referral. Our office will provide additional information about anticipated scheduling after receiving and reviewing the referral.
How do I get on the psychological testing waitlist?
To begin the process, please ask your healthcare provider to fax a psychological testing referral to 406-534-1166.
To help us process the referral as efficiently as possible, please ask your provider to include:
- A current phone number
- A current email address
- The reason for the referral and relevant clinical information
Once we receive and review the referral, our office will contact you regarding the next steps.
What is the difference between a psychological evaluation and a neuropsychological evaluation?
Both psychological and neuropsychological evaluations can include standardized testing of cognitive abilities such as attention, executive functioning, memory, learning, and problem-solving. The primary difference is the clinical question the evaluation is designed to answer.
At Summit Therapy Center, psychological evaluations are conducted by Dr. Angela Wagenaar, a pediatric psychologist with more than 20 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and young adults and extensive experience in psychological assessment. Evaluations may examine cognitive, developmental, emotional, behavioral, and adaptive functioning and can help clarify concerns such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, learning and developmental differences, anxiety, mood concerns, and other factors affecting functioning.
A neuropsychological evaluation places greater emphasis on understanding cognitive functioning in relation to the brain and nervous system. This type of evaluation may be particularly appropriate when there is a known or suspected neurological condition, acquired brain injury, complex medical history affecting brain development or functioning, or another question requiring specialized neuropsychological expertise.
If it is unclear which type of evaluation is most appropriate, our team can review the referral information and help determine whether Summit Therapy Center’s psychological testing services are a good fit or whether a referral for a neuropsychological evaluation may be more appropriate.