Psychological Assessment Services

A more compassionate way of understanding yourself

A thoughtful assessment can offer language that supports self-understanding, helps you advocate for your needs, and supports more aligned treatment moving forward.

Unfortunately, many people come to assessment after experiences of being dismissed, misunderstood, or reduced to a label that never quite fit — especially those who hold marginalized identities or have had difficult experiences with healthcare systems.

My intention is to offer assessment as something different: collaborative, respectful, and grounded in your lived experience within the context of a therapeutic relationship. You deserve language that helps you make sense of yourself rather than pathologize you. You deserve care that honours your history, your identities, and the wisdom you’ve developed through everything you’ve lived through.

Why seek assessment?

People come to assessment for many different reasons. Often, it’s because something doesn’t feel aligned or fully explained yet.

You might be seeking assessment because:

• You feel confused about what’s happening internally and want more clarity

• Previous diagnoses (such as anxiety or depression) don’t quite capture your experience

• You’ve tried therapy or medication and want a clearer understanding of what might be most helpful

• You’re trying to explain your experiences to a physician, workplace, or academic setting

• You want language that helps you understand yourself more compassionately

• You suspect ADHD or autism may be part of your experience and want to explore this further

• You want a structured way to understand mood, anxiety, trauma, or emotional patterns

These assessments can be supportive for understanding experiences related to:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Trauma and stress-related concerns

• OCD

• Mood instability

• Burnout

• Neurodivergent traits (including ADHD and autism, when explored collaboratively and within scope)

I use diagnostic frameworks always alongside the broader context of your life, identity, nervous system, relationships, culture, and history. Diagnosis is never the goal on its own — understanding and a clear plan forward is.

What I do and do not assess

I currently offer assessment for mood, anxiety, trauma-related, and related mental health concerns.

At this time, I do not provide diagnosis for:

• Personality disorders

• Psychotic disorders

• Neurocognitive or brain-based disorders

Exploring ADHD and autism is more nuanced. In some cases, I can offer a provisional clinical impression and narrative summary of what we’re noticing together, along with recommendations for next steps. If you’re wondering whether this may be part of your experience, you’re welcome to reach out and we can discuss whether this service would be appropriate.

These assessments are also not suitable for legal proceedings. I do not provide court-ordered assessments, expert witness services, or legal reports.

My approach to assessment

My approach to assessment is grounded in the same values that guide my therapy work: relational, trauma-informed, holistic, and somatically attuned. Additionally, I currently only offer assessments as part of my therapy practice. This means that assessment is something that is part of our work together in therapy, not a stand alone service.

Assessment, in this space, is not a top-down process where I “analyze” you. It’s a collaborative exploration. We look together at your experiences with curiosity — including how your nervous system, life history, relationships, identity, stressors, and environment may be shaping what you’re going through.

Because psychological assessment has a history of harm, I practice with ongoing attention to cultural humility, power, and the need to continually challenge traditional assessment models. If there are cultural, identity-based, or lived-experience considerations you want centered in the process, we will hold those with care.

What to expect from the process

A typical assessment includes 2 to 3 hour sessions using a detailed clinical interview exploring your history, experiences, and current concerns, as well as the use of several standardized questionnaires and screening tools. Following the assessment sessions, we will have one 50 minute integrative session where we review everything together and make or update our treatment plan for therapy. You’ll have space to ask questions, reflect, and make meaning of what’s emerged.

If you’ve had difficult experiences with assessment in the past, it makes sense to feel cautious. My hope is to offer a process that feels grounded, respectful, collaborative, and human — one that supports you in understanding yourself with more compassion and agency.

You’re welcome to reach out if you’d like to explore whether this offering might be a fit.