We are continuing our series of articles with the newest addition, which explains what a psychological assessment process is all about. Debbie Hegarty is once again contributing to the series and sharing the results of her research on psychological testing and it’s wide range of uses and applications.
If you are interested in either domestic or intercountry adoption, you are probably already familiar with our article on Inter-Country Adoption. However, even if the country you are aiming to adopt from does not require the MMPI test, a universally-acknowledged psychological assessment carried out by a certified clinical psychologist will reflect well on any applicant.
Aiming to help explain what psychological assessments are for, and how MMPI-2-RF in particular is the most widely used and recognized personality assessment test, Debbie Hegarty has put together and article which covers all these questions in detail.
One particular group of psychological tests, known as personality tests, strive to uncover the structure of the personality to include a person’s thinking, feeling and behaviour. Other groups of tests are designed to measure signs and symptoms of psychopathology and psychiatric disorders. Tests of psychopathology and personality are further subdivided into two groups: objective and projective. Objective tests include standardized, clear, specific items and questions that are presented to the respondent as well as limited response options (e.g., answering “yes” or “no” to a particular question). Projective tests include asking open ended and ambiguous stimuli and include stories from respondents (Hersen, 2003).
We at the Hazelton clinic are delighted to announce that we are now providing assessments for prospective clients using The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). This personality testing kit which has been described as “The Gold-Star of all assessment tools” (Irish Medical Times, 2010) is utilized to assist in identifying personality structure and psychopathology. Psychopathological disorder can be as general as depression, anxiety and panic attacks or as complex as OCD, bipolar, schizophrenia and personality disorder.