Tests and Assessments Used for Diagnosing Mental Health Disorders

There are a plethora of tests and assessment techniques that can be used when diagnosing mental health disorders.

This article will discuss the general categories of assessment techniques and give examples of each. The information in this article is designed to be used for educational purposes. Only licensed mental health care professionals formally trained in the use of the following techniques are qualified to administer, score, and interpret these assessment techniques and tests.

Clinical Assessments to Diagnose Mental Health Disorders

For purposes of this article, we can define clinical assessment as the evaluation of a person’s physical, medical, cognitive, psychological (personality, emotions, beliefs, and attitudes), and behavioral history and current condition in order to determine the presence of any mental health disorder.¹

The assessment process is typically initiated by a referral either from a physician, mental health worker, or other person, or it can be directly initiated by the individual.

When people come into an assessment, they have some set of presenting issues or problems that they, or some other party, wish to address, understand, and change, if possible. The clinical assessment process is aimed at making a specific diagnostic determination that will help with understanding these issues, conceptualizing them into an organized and meaningful format, and developing a formal intervention strategy to assist the individual.

There are a number of assessment techniques and formal tests that can be used during the clinical assessment process. Assessment techniques and formal tests are tools used to gather information. A person is not defined by a score on a test. The score or performance on a test helps the clinician understand something about the person, and during the assessment process, it contributes to understanding what the potential diagnostic issues may be.

The Clinical Interview

By far the most important tool to gather information in the assessment process is the clinical interview. Without the clinical interview data, any other information collected from other tests or assessment techniques has limited value. The interview provides the context for the rest of the assessment.

The interview data provides potentially valuable information that may not otherwise be obtainable from tests, such as observing the individual’s behavior and reactions to current life situation, understanding idiosyncratic features of the individual, and so forth.

Psychometric Testing for Mental Health Diagnosis

Psychometric tests or psychological tests consist of a number of formalized tests that tap nearly every domain of psychological, personality, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive functioning. These tests can be extremely useful in assisting in the diagnosis of mental health disorders; however, these tests require special training to assess, score, and interpret properly. The basic domains that psychological tests cover include:

Personality Tests

Personality tests are formal psychological tests that measure aspects of an individual’s personality or measure specific personality variables.² In general, these tests can be divided into two major categories:³

Projective personality tests: Tests that provide some sort of ambiguous stimulus or task, and the individual is required to give a subjective opinion of the stimulus or to complete the task, such as a drawing task.

• There are no right or wrong answers to these tests.
• The data gleaned from these tests consists of the individual’s interpretation and expression to the stimulus or task.
• These tests are designed to tap personality variables that individuals are not overtly aware of (in the unconscious mind).
• The most well-known of these tests is the Rorschach or ink blot test.

Objective personality tests: Tests that have a specific type of question-and-answer format.

• This may consist of choosing an appropriate answer from several choices that relates to the individual’s self-perception.
• These tests may involve rating appropriate feeling on a scale, or some other concrete response.
• There is an option for individuals who know the patient to take certain types of objective personality tests and rate the patient on specific personality indices.
• Perhaps the most used of the objective personality tests is the Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) that is used to rate individuals on personality, psychological, and emotional variables.

Intelligence Tests

Intelligence tests are used to rate the individual’s level of overall intellect compared to others in their peer group.⁴ Intelligence tests are important in determining various cognitive strengths and weaknesses in individuals that may be associated with certain types of mental health disorders.

There are a number of different formal intelligence tests. The most utilized intelligence tests are the Wechsler Intelligence Scales. These tests are separately developed for both adults and children, and give a number of different IQ scores (intelligence quotient scores) for different intellectual domains (e.g., full scale IQ, verbal IQ, nonverbal IQ, and so forth).

Neuropsychological Tests

Neuropsychological tests are specialized tests administered by psychologists trained in brain behavior relationships (neuropsychologists).⁵ These tests can be used to determine the presence of cognitive strengths and weaknesses that may be the result of brain damage, a psychological disorder, a neurological disorder, or a developmental disorder.

Neuropsychological functioning generally covers issues such as:

• Intelligence.
• Language abilities (expressive and receptive language abilities).
• Attention.
• Learning and memory.
• Visual perception.
• Planning and judgment.
• Abstract thinking.
• Motor functioning.
• Personality.
• Other psychological domains.

Other Psychometric Tests for Diagnosing Mental Health Disorders

A number of other tests are specifically designed to measure aspects of an individual’s mood (e.g., the presence of depression), other emotional states and psychological states such as the presence of anxiety or psychosis, and to measure a person’s adaptive abilities.⁶

Physical and Laboratory Testing

An important part of the assessment process is to ensure that the individual has a full physical workup to rule out any physical causes/associations that may be related to the presenting psychological problem. Although there are no laboratory or medical tests that can determine the presence of the vast majority of psychological or psychiatric disorders, there are a number of physical conditions and diseases that either present very similarly to certain psychological disorders or produce side effects that are similar to the symptoms of certain psychological disorders.

For instance, individuals with certain cardiovascular issues often experience panic attacks. Not assessing the individual for these cardiac issues could lead to the misdiagnosis of panic disorder in the person and result in a treatment approach that would be relatively ineffective in addressing that person’s panic attacks.

Another example would be individuals with hypothyroidism that will often present with the symptoms of severe depression. Attempting to treat their depression with therapy or by other means will not fully address the issue and certainly will not treat the thyroid condition. Only treating the hypothyroidism will fully address the issue in this case.

A number of different physical and laboratory techniques are available. Some of the more relevant ones in the assessment of mental health issues include the following:

• A full physical exam performed by a physician can help to ascertain any physical issues that may be contributing to symptoms.
• Neurological evaluations are useful in determining specific types of neurological disorders that may be presenting as psychological issues. Neurological evaluations typically include such techniques as neuroimaging and psychophysiological assessment (see below).
• Neuroimaging techniques that look at the structure or functioning of the brain can be useful.⁷ There are two basic categories of neuroimaging techniques: structural neuroimaging (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) that focuses on changes in the structure of the brain and functional neuroimaging (e.g., positron emission tomography [PET]) that focuses on blood flow and areas of activation in the brain during specific physical, cognitive, and emotional states. Neurologists and psychiatrist can choose the specific neuroimaging test they feel is most appropriate for the particular case.
• Psychophysiological assessment techniques can be useful, and these include such procedures as the electroencephalogram (EEG) and evoked potentials that measure changes in the nervous system.⁸ For instance, EEGs are useful in determining if an individual has a seizure disorder. Often, individuals with chronic seizure disorders experience symptoms similar to individuals with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.
• Laboratory tests, such as blood and urine tests, can help to determine the presence of any medical conditions, infections, or substance use disorders that contribute to the individual’s presentation.

Multidisciplinary Assessment

Of course, using medical doctors (e.g., psychiatrists, neurologists, and other physicians) and psychologists can be useful in ascertaining the exact nature of the presenting issue. However, in many cases, it is important to broaden the range of assessment services in order to develop a picture of the whole person. Using assessment techniques and professionals from other disciplines can widen the assessment process.⁹ Professionals that could be utilized include:

• Speech therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists to determine functional issues
• Social workers, case managers, and vocational rehabilitation specialists for lifestyle and practical issues
• Other specialists, such as audiologists, other medical specialists, religious and spiritual influences, and so forth

How Can I Get My Mental Health Diagnosis?

A licensed medical professional can provide you with a mental health diagnosis. You will be evaluated using any number of the above tests and assessments for mental health. Mental health professionals use The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) to diagnose your disorder based on specific criteria.¹⁰

Diagnosing a mental health disorder is important for many reasons, one being that it will be used to guide your treatment program.

Where Can I Get Treatment for My Mental Health Disorder?

You can get treatment for your mental health disorder a multitude of ways, including the following:¹¹

• Private practice therapy sessions
• County or community mental health centers
• Telemedicine
• Substance use disorder treatment centers

If you have both a mental health disorder as well as a substance use disorder, it’s important to find a treatment center that provides integrated treatment methods for co-occurring disorders. Other factors to consider when looking for a treatment facility include:

• Program offerings: Does the facility use evidence-based treatment methods? What levels of addiction treatment do they offer?
• Facility location: The location of the facility may affect the cost and convenience for you.
• Accreditations held: Does the treatment facility hold any accreditations?
• Insurances accepted: To keep your out of pocket costs as low as possible, you will want to ensure the treatment center is in-network with your insurance provider.

How Can I Pay for My Treatment?

You can pay for mental health treatment various ways. Paying for rehab with health insurance is one payment method that may cover all or part of your treatment costs. If you do not have insurance, other rehab payment options are available. At Desert Hope Treatment Center, we also offer flexible payment methods, and you may qualify for financing.

Our drug rehabilitation center near Las Vegas makes it easy to find out what your insurance covers. online or by calling an admissions navigator at .

Diagnosing Mental Health Disorders Requires Comprehensive Testing

The process to assess and diagnose a mental health issue is complicated and should be as thorough as possible. Tests and assessments aimed at diagnosing mental health disorders should cover several basic domains of functioning and present a comprehensive picture of the individual.

If you or someone you know if struggling with a mental health disorder, recovery is possible. Start the rehab admissions process at Desert Hope in Las Vegas today.