Ep 39: Psychological Evaluations and Testing with Lauren Pasqua, Psy.D.

It’s common for people to feel intimidated when hearing the term ‘psychological testing’. Having a more concrete measure of your psychological wellbeing can sometimes bring the same anxiety as medical testing, the concern that you might find out that something is wrong. Today’s guest, Lauren Pasqua, hopes to alleviate the stress around the process by providing some context about the benefits of psychological testing and when it might be the right fit for you. Lauren is a psychologist and the Founder and Executive Director of the Connections Child & Family Center in The Woodlands, Texas. In this episode, you will learn about the categories of testing that Lauren and her team do and she outlines the process, from intake and evaluation to the types of referrals, recommendations, and resources that she provides. She also shares some of the benefits of early intervention, even offering her perspective on the cost benefit analysis of testing. As always, the episode ends with a story of hope, and you’ll find out more about the incredible research that Lauren is doing on autism in girls, so make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Find out a bit about Lauren and her psychology practice.
• Lauren explains what it means to be a psychologist and the focus of her studies.
• The categories of testing at the Connections Child & Family Center, starting with educational.
• From testing to diagnostics: how Lauren determines what the right course of treatment is.
• Some issues or symptoms that might lead someone to consider having their child tested.
• Lauren’s view on the timing of testing; how early intervention can prevent long-term problems.
• The benefits of testing, from guiding treatment to education planning and simple relief.
• Hear about some of the fears that people have that prevent them from pursuing testing.
• Advice for parents who want to have the conversation about getting their child tested.
• Lauren outlines the process for testing, from intake to evaluation and recommendations.
• Learn a bit more about the types of referrals, recommendations, and resources that Lauren provides to her clients.
• The difference between testing via the school district versus private evaluations.
• How testing can help you save both money and time in the long run.
• Lauren shares her story of hope; the positive outcomes of her research on autism in girls.

Tweetables:

“In my view, I think it is helpful to pursue something a little more structured and formal as soon as you have concerns. We definitely know that early intervention prevents lots of later problems.” — Lauren Pasqua [0:13:44]

“Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. This doesn’t change who you are, it doesn’t change who your child is.” — Lauren Pasqua [0:19:25]

“Getting to the heart of the matter on the front end and getting a lot of clear data to drive the decisions that you make actually will save both money and time in the long run.” — Lauren Pasqua [0:30:51]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lauren Pasqua, Psy.D. on LinkedIn

Connections Child & Family Center

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