Practical Guide to Child and Adolescent Psychological Testing

by Nancy E. Moss, Lauren Moss-Racusin

Overview

This book explains the psychological assessment process and reviews the origins of psychological testing, referral and testing processes, and prominent psychological assessment instruments. Most important, this book details how to evaluate testing data and use them to understand an individual’s needs and to inform interventions and treatments.

This book addresses specific domains of psychological assessment, including:

· Intelligence and academic achievement.

· Speech-language and visual-motor abilities.

· Memory, attention/concentration, and executive functioning.

· Behavioral and social-emotional functioning.

· Developmental status.

Practical Guide to Child and Adolescent Psychological Testing is an essential resource for clinicians, primary care providers, and other practitioners as well as researchers, professors, and graduate students in the fields of child, school, and developmental psychology, pediatrics and social work, child and adolescent psychiatry, primary care medicine, and related disciplines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030735173
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	05/25/2021
Series:	Best Practices in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Care
Edition description:	1st ed. 2021
Pages:	161
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Nancy E. Moss, Ph.D., trained at the University of California and Yale University, Dr. Moss has more than 30 years of experience in children’s psychological testing. She has always emphasized the importance of communicating assessment findings clearly across disciplines so that medical professionals, parents, and all other caregivers can make confident, appropriate use of the findings on behalf of the children and adolescents tested. A Clinical Assistant Professor at the Yale Child Study Center, Dr. Moss combines teaching of Clinical Psychology Fellows with a longstanding private practice.

Lauren Moss-Racusin, Ph.D., earned her undergraduate degree at Boston University then worked as a Research Assistant at the Yale University Consultation Center. She then completed her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Connecticut, her Clinical Internship at the University of Illinois at Chicago Counseling Center, and her Post-Graduate Counseling Fellowship at TempleUniversity Tuttleman Counseling Services. She is now on staff at Yale Health Mental Health and Counseling as an Embedded Mental Health Provider to the Residential Colleges. Dr. Moss-Racusin has focused on psychological assessment throughout her clinical training and values its integration within therapeutic practice.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction to Psychological Testing.- Chapter 2. Referral Process.- Chapter 3. Process of Psychological Assessment.- Chapter 4. Report Interpretation.- Chapter 5. Assessment Domain: Intelligence.- Chapter 6. Assessment Domain: Speech and Language.- Chapter 7. Assessment Domain: Visual-Motor Coordination.- Chapter 8. Assessment Domain: Memory.- Chapter 9. Assessment Domain: Attention, Concentration, and Executive Functioning.- Chapter 10. Assessment Domain: Academic Achievement.- Chapter 11. Assessment Domain: Behavior.- Chapter 12. Assessment Domain: Adaptive Functioning.- Chapter 13. Assessment Domain: Social-Emotional and Psychological.- Chapter 14. Assessment Domain: Developmental Status.- Chapter 15. Future Directions in Research and Practice.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Gary Kaniuk, PsyD (Cermak Health Services)
Description: This book discusses the process of psychological testing in children and adolescents. It walks the readers through the referral, direct assessment, interpretation of results, and test recommendations. It is part of the Springer series, "Best Practices in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Care."
Purpose: According to the book, "it reviews the origins of psychological testing, as well as the referral process, thereby helping providers to understand the kinds of questions that can be readily addressed through testing. The book also helps providers be more specific in their referral questions to maximize the utility of the testing. The overall process of psychological assessment is discussed in detail to five providers and understanding of how assessments are done. The formal and observational data that derive from the testing, along with ways in which these data can expand an understanding of an individual's needs, are explained" (p. ix). These are worthy objectives, which the book meets.
Audience: The book states that the general target audience is "healthcare providers." In my opinion, graduate students in clinical psychology would also benefit. The book meets the needs of its intended audience. The authors are credible authorities in the subject matter of the book. Nancy E. Moss has over 30 years of testing experience with children. She maintains a private practice and is on the faculty of Yale University. Lauren Moss-Racusin is on staff at Yale University. She is interested in psychological assessment and the therapeutic process.
Features: The book begins with an introduction to the topic. Psychological testing can be traced back to the early part of the 20th century. It increased greatly in order to screen military candidates during World War II. Current tests usually are standardized using normative populations. An individual's test scores can then be compared to populations similar to them. Additionally, the psychometric properties of a test (i.e. validity and reliability) have increased due to advanced statistical methodology. There are different types of psychological assessments including clinical psychological assessment, neuropsychological assessment, school psychoeducational testing, independent educational evaluation, and court-ordered assessments. The referral process is the first step as the referral question must be specific and developed in collaboration with caretakers. The testing process may take four to six sessions, which are composed of the actual testing, school/home observation, interpretive sessions, and follow-up consultation. The goal of testing is to develop useful recommendations. Psychological testing may focus on the assessment of intelligence, speech and language, visual-motor coordination, memory, executive functioning, and behavioral functioning, to name a few areas. The book ends with a brief example of a psychological assessment report. The book is very readable and contains useful tables, which help clarify the text.
Assessment: This book provides a very good, practical look at the psychological testing process. It explains all phases fairly well with examples. Graduate students in clinical psychology will find this basic information helpful.

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