Psychological Assessment and Access: A Multidisciplinary Population Health Approach

Speaker: Hadas Pade, PsyD

This session highlights the need to address the current inequitable access to psychological assessment services by acknowledging and embracing different levels of assessment versus a more traditional comprehensive assessment approach, and the potential role of various health care providers other than psychologists. While comprehensive assessments are highly valued, they are costly, often not adequately covered by insurance, and not readily available for many individuals, especially those from minoritized groups. In addition, one must be highly qualified to complete such an assessment; thus, supply is short. The current alternatives of a lengthy waitlist or simply bypassing an assessment are unacceptable and in direct opposition to social justice values. Instead, applying a population health model including a multidisciplinary approach that systematically and thoughtfully offers universal screenings and targeted assessments rather than primarily comprehensive ones along with overall promotion of health and emotional well-being is the way forward. This multi-tiered approach utilizes preventative tools and early detection and intervention applied to more or even all people that can be completed by a range of mental health and health trained individuals. Although not new, a population health approach has yet to be widely applied to psychological assessment. The different levels will be described including purpose, scope, type of providers considered, and resources necessary as well as advantages and limitations.