It is generally considered to be true that psychologists are the best-trained, best-qualified professionals to administer, score and interpret psychological tests. At one time, in the early years of the profession, that was mostly what psychologists did, and most of the tests available today were developed by psychologists.

The administration, scoring and interpretation of psychological tests can benefit the patient in several specific ways. First, it can shorten the time spent in trying different approaches to solving a problem, since it can often accurately pinpoint the emotional dynamics which are leading to the symptoms. Second, it can highlight areas of relative strength and ability so that these can be used as the basis of effective solutions. Third, psychological testing helps determine specific areas of difficulty, quantifies (gives a numerical value to) the severity of the problem, and creates a reference (baseline) which can be used later on to measure progress (by re-testing and comparing the earlier and later scores).

Problem areas which can benefit by psychological testing as a part of treatment include Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Chronic Pain Syndrome, Depression, and Anxiety and Panic Disorders.

 For children or adults with academic performance problems, Educational and Achievement Testing can provide a "snapshot" of current strengths, abilities and weaknesses, showing where extra effort needs to be applied, and can point towards effective ways to compensate for areas of lower ability.

 In Career Counseling, testing can identify areas of interest, aptitudes for various types of work, and compatibilities with different work environments. In addition, employee selection, performance evaluation, and team building in the business environment always begin with systematic assessment procedures.

 Marriage Counseling, as well as Custody Evaluations, often utilize psychological tests to identify personality traits and attitudes which may lead towards compatibility or conflict between partners, or between parents and children.

Each year thousands of people use these psychological instruments to help them find rewarding careers and to gain insight into their own thoughts and actions. Many Fortune 500 corporations use them to evaluate their job applicants.

 At Psychological Services, we use the 16PF generally for our  personality testing and the Millon series of tests for the pathology testing although we have a number of other tests too numerous to mention that we also use for specific situations.

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 The primary purpose of vocational rehabilitation is to enable each individual to reach his/her highest level ofachievement, personally and vocationally. One of the mandates of the Vocational RehabilitationCounsellor/Case Manager or Insurance Adjuster is the Return-to-Work of the client. How this is done, and theextent of the involvement and type of services required depends on the barriers to employment faced by theclient. Successful return-to-work transition planning may be linked to a good vocational assessment. Thequestion is, what type of assessment/evaluation provides the information needed to achieve these importantoutcomes. Formal psychometric approaches such as occupational interest inventories and vocational aptitudebatteries are commonly used. The question remains, however: are these approaches appropriate for meeting theneeds of special populations (i.e. injured or unemployed workers, rehabilitation clients, etc.) and can theyprovide sufficient data to achieve the requisite outcomes?

Vocational Assessment/Evaluation is utilized primarily to determine whether or not an individual canreturn-to-work, and, if so, at what. A good Vocational Assessment/Evaluation measures the client's strengths,identifies areas of need, enhances self-image and determines the level and style of the individual's learningabilities. It accurately assesses a client's vocational potential for a wide variety of realistic job and trainingoptions within a short period of time when transferable skills alone cannot be utilized. Direct placement mayfollow. Oftentimes retraining or job modification/job accommodation may be required. The VocationalAssessment/Evaluation incorporates medical, psychological, social, vocational, educational, cultural, andeconomic data. It also needs to include an assessment of physical, intellectual, personal and behavior factors.Each client is different and may require different testing instruments.

The Vocational Assessment/Evaluation measures an individual's Personal and Vocational Characteristics. Thesefactors are defined in the Canadian Classification and Dictionary of Occupations (CCDO) and The Dictionary ofOccupational Titles (DOT). They include: Vocational Interests, Aptitudes (general learning ability, verbal,numerical, spatial, form, clerical perception, motor coordination, finger dexterity, manual dexterity, eye-hand-foot coordination, color discrimination), Education (reasoning, mathematical, language), EmploymentTraining, Temperaments, Employment History (Transferable Skills), Vocational Skills, Physical Abilities andFunctional Limitations, Language Skills, Cognitive Abilities. There are dozens of acceptable tests available tothe Evaluator. Each test is like one piece of a jig-saw puzzle. No one test is a stand-alone. Each test or test battery is simply one tool among many. They must all be put together to complete the Evaluation (puzzle).

In processing the information from the Evaluation, it should be kept in mind that physical capacities andaptitudes/abilities tell what a client can do; interests and attitudes towards work tell what the client wants to do.Assessment of an individual's interests, abilities, and preferences is crucial to placement in a job or trainingprogram to allow for the best opportunity for success. The Vocational Assessment/Evaluation Report shouldcontain all the Personal and Vocational Characteristics of the individual. In addition, the report should includepsychosocial and background information regarding the client, and provide test results in general terms. Thereport should also contain recommendations to assist the counsellor/case manager/adjuster in completing therehabilitation plan or the treatment plan. This includes Realistic Occupational Options, including JobSuitability.

A client is appropriate for Vocational Assessment/Evaluation as early as possible in the rehabilitation process,when he/she is medically stable [Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)], and there is a question as to thelikelihood of a return to previous job/occupation. Early intervention assists in earlier return-to-work and/orearly indication of necessary services to facilitate the return-to-work.

The primary purpose of vocational rehabilitation is to enable each individual to reach his/her highest level of

achievement, personally and vocationally. One of the mandates of the Vocational Rehabilitation

Counsellor/Case Manager or Insurance Adjuster is the Return-to-Work of the client. How this is done, and the

extent of the involvement and type of services required depends on the barriers to employment faced by the

client. Successful return-to-work transition planning may be linked to a good vocational assessment. The

question is, what type of assessment/evaluation provides the information needed to achieve these important

outcomes. Formal psychometric approaches such as occupational interest inventories and vocational aptitude

batteries are commonly used. The question remains, however: are these approaches appropriate for meeting the

needs of special populations (i.e. injured or unemployed workers, rehabilitation clients, etc.) and can they

provide sufficient data to achieve the requisite outcomes?

Vocational Assessment/Evaluation is utilized primarily to determine whether or not an individual can

return-to-work, and, if so, at what. A good Vocational Assessment/Evaluation measures the client's strengths,

identifies areas of need, enhances self-image and determines the level and style of the individual's learning

abilities. It accurately assesses a client's vocational potential for a wide variety of realistic job and training

options within a short period of time when transferable skills alone cannot be utilized. Direct placement may

follow. Oftentimes retraining or job modification/job accommodation may be required. The Vocational

Assessment/Evaluation incorporates medical, psychological, social, vocational, educational, cultural, and

economic data. It also needs to include an assessment of physical, intellectual, personal and behavior factors.

Each client is different and may require different testing instruments.

The Vocational Assessment/Evaluation measures an individual's Personal and Vocational Characteristics. These

factors are defined in the Canadian Classification and Dictionary of Occupations (CCDO) and The Dictionary of

Occupational Titles (DOT). They include: Vocational Interests, Aptitudes (general learning ability, verbal,

numerical, spatial, form, clerical perception, motor coordination, finger dexterity, manual dexterity, eye-hand-

foot coordination, color discrimination), Education (reasoning, mathematical, language), Employment

Training, Temperaments, Employment History (Transferable Skills), Vocational Skills, Physical Abilities and

Functional Limitations, Language Skills, Cognitive Abilities. There are dozens of acceptable tests available to

the Evaluator. Each test is like one piece of a jig-saw puzzle. No one test is a stand-alone. Each test or test

battery is simply one tool among many. They must all be put together to complete the Evaluation (puzzle).

In processing the information from the Evaluation, it should be kept in mind that physical capacities and

aptitudes/abilities tell what a client can do; interests and attitudes towards work tell what the client wants to do.

Assessment of an individual's interests, abilities, and preferences is crucial to placement in a job or training

program to allow for the best opportunity for success. The Vocational Assessment/Evaluation Report should

contain all the Personal and Vocational Characteristics of the individual. In addition, the report should include

psychosocial and background information regarding the client, and provide test results in general terms. The

report should also contain recommendations to assist the counsellor/case manager/adjuster in completing the

rehabilitation plan or the treatment plan. This includes Realistic Occupational Options, including Job

Suitability.

A client is appropriate for Vocational Assessment/Evaluation as early as possible in the rehabilitation process,

when he/she is medically stable [Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)], and there is a question as to the

likelihood of a return to previous job/occupation. Early intervention assists in earlier return-to-work and/or

early indication of necessary services to facilitate the return-to-work.

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