Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors of Practicing Psychologists Regarding Psychological Assessment

Recent research has documented the effectiveness, benefits, and value of psychological assessment, yet the use of psychological assessment is declining. To better understand why an effective treatment intervention is being underutilized, this project sought to understand the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of practicing psychologists regarding psychological assessment. The investigators of this study surveyed 26 psychologists who are members of a statewide association of psychologists in the western United States. Results revealed that 96% of participants enjoyed their graduate training in psychological assessment and 93% of participants view psychological assessment as valuable, yet 78% believed that psychological assessment was underutilized. Participants were most likely to refer for neuropsychological testing followed by cognitive testing, personality testing, Therapeutic Assessment, and vocational testing. The price of psychological testing was by far the strongest deterrent to a professional from making a referral. Other deterrents with some influence included the time involved and not knowing good assessors to refer to for an assessment. Most participants surveyed had little or no knowledge of Therapeutic Assessment. Recommendations for increasing the use of this valuable resource for health care providers are provided