Getting a Psychological Assessment
The CMHC Assessment team appreciates your interest in our psychological assessment services. At this time, we have reached our capacity for services this Fall 2023 semester and have closed the survey. The survey will reopen at the start of business the morning of Wednesday, January 10. If you need immediate assessment support, we have a list of providers who assess locally in Moscow, Spokane, and Boise. If you need more provider resources, please contact us at cmhc-assessment@uidaho.edu.
The psychological assessment protocol at the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC) includes remote and in-person assessment components, with most of the testing being in-person. Please note that this may change to remote testing if there is a major increase of COVID in the community. Additionally, we ask any students who are feeling ill to reschedule their appointment as your quality of results may be impacted.
Please read the “Prior to your first appointment” accordion.
If you are meeting with a staff member at the CMHC, consult with them as they can help support you through the assessment referral process.
If you are not meeting with a staff member at the CMHC, take this survey, which asks some initial questions to better help our team understand what you are experiencing, as well as to determine if assessment is the best fit. The link will ask what type of assessment you are looking for: ADHD, Learning Disorder or Comprehensive, if you are unsure, click “comprehensive.” The survey should take 10 to 20 minutes to complete.
Once you have completed the survey, allow one to two weeks for a response regarding the next steps. Note, responses to this survey will be reviewed by the assessment coordinator and may become part of your file but are otherwise considered confidential. If you do not hear or have concerns, email cmhc-assessment@uidaho.edu.
Survey responses will be reviewed approximately once per week, and you will be contacted via email with one of two responses:
- If you are a good fit for assessment, you will be sent links for a preassessment packet to complete. Once the packet is received, you will be scheduled for a 15-minute screening appointment.
- If assessment may not be a good fit at this time, we will let you know. Additionally, we will provide potential suggestions that may be of support.
Upon completion of the preassessment packet, you will be contacted by the CMHC to schedule a 15-minute screening appointment. In this appointment, the provider will review your survey responses and may ask additional questions. The provider will also discuss the tier of testing that will be done, approximate testing length, testing costs and wait times.
Screening Appointment Scheduling Policy
When scheduling your psychological assessment screening appointment, you will be contacted by the CMHC via telephone and/or email to schedule. You will receive up to two additional reminders to schedule your screening appointment via telephone and/or email. After the third attempt, you will have 72 hours to contact the CMHC to schedule the screening appointment, otherwise, you will be removed from the scheduling list as we will assume you are no longer interested or available.
After your clinical interview, you and your clinician will schedule the assessment appointment(s), which may be scheduled with your provider or with our psychometrist staff. As mentioned, the assessment process is time-intensive so students should be prepared to spend considerable time (typically between 4-8 hours) to complete the process.
The following forms are for support of your assessment documentation. Please aim to complete the information and consult your provider if this is not possible.
Self-Report
Preferred Forms
These forms are not required, but are beneficial. For the following forms below, please type in the name of the student for whom you are completing the form. If you do not know the student’s Vandal ID number, please use eight 0’s (for example, 00000000.) Please also select “no” on any other forced question. If you have any questions, please email cmhc-assessment@uidaho.edu.
*Parent/Guardian
*Other Adult (i.e., Friend, roommate, partner, etc.)
*Professor/Employer
*Preferred forms to be completed.
Tier 1: Our lowest tier of assessment which is for those who have had previous testing and need updated documentation. 1-2 hours of assessment.
Tier 2: Our most common tier of assessment, which covers assessing for attention issues such as ADHD and some learning issues. 4-8 hours of assessment.
Tier 3: Our most comprehensive assessment, which covers areas such as autism spectrum disorders, clients with complicated factors or histories (ex. Multiple concussions, head injuries, childhood illnesses.) 8-10+ hours of assessment.
When the process is completed (up to 8 weeks after assessment sessions are finished), you will be contacted by your provider and a feedback session will be scheduled. This feedback will go over the results, diagnoses and recommendations, as well as questions you may have. A copy of the full report can be provided to you electronically in an encrypted email with your consent and acknowledgement that email is not a secure form of communication and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed or a copy may be printed and picked up at the CMHC. A copy of your report can also be faxed to the Center for Disability Access and Resources (CDAR) as long as you have the completed the Release of Information form with the CMHC.