A psychiatric evaluation is the first line of defense in the therapy of mental illness. However, most people don’t know what goes on during one of these assessments. This element of mystery causes a lot of distress for people. Below is more information about these evaluations and what they can expect.

What Is a Psychiatric Evaluation?

A psychiatrist comforts a woman during a psychiatric evaluation for adultsA psychiatric evaluation for adults is very similar to a series of standard medical tests. When people go in for medical exams, their doctors run several tests to understand the cause of their symptoms. Likewise, experts run a few tests during a psych evaluation to analyze people’s behaviors.

The evaluation process is extremely important to receiving therapy. The tests help experts arrive at a conclusion and diagnosis. Using the information that they learn, they can recommend specific courses of therapy. Evaluating people before creating therapeutic plans is crucial for healing.

No two people are the same, so it’s extremely important for everyone to undergo an evaluation before they begin therapy. The process for a psychiatric evaluation for adults brings out the specific needs that they must address. It’s essential that they avoid therapeutic providers that don’t perform comprehensive evaluations.

What Are Some Signs That Someone Needs an Evaluation?

The American Psychiatric Association says that there are multiple signs that people need a psychiatric evaluation. Having one or two of these signs isn’t a cause for concern, but having more than that is troublesome. Some of these signs include:

  • Having trouble functioning normally at work, school, or home
  • Spacing out while interacting with others or feeling disconnected
  • Finding it difficult to shake certain ideas
  • Shifting moods in rapid succession or for unexplained reasons
  • Thinking or talking in illogical ways or patterns
  • Engaging in behaviors that aren’t normal for their personalities
  • Developing unhealthy eating or sleeping habits

Don’t Peek Ahead at the Tests

There’s a temptation for people to look ahead and prepare for the tests. Thanks to the internet, it’s easy to find a mock-up psychiatric evaluation for adults that therapists use. However, this is a bad idea because they might subconsciously push the tests in a certain direction.

Why do people do that? Subconsciously, they have their own ideas about their mental health problems. They start to look up their symptoms and discover signs of specific mental conditions. When they go to take the tests, they morph their answers to fit into those categories.

In the end, this prevents people from getting the help that they need. Experts need to know what individuals really face to provide the best help possible. People can help them achieve that by not preparing for their evaluations so that their responses are genuine.

Get an Evaluation at PACE Mental Health Houston

Are you ready to participate in a psych assessment? At PACE Mental Health Houston, we provide psychiatric evaluations for everyone we treat. We do so to ensure that we can offer the best therapy possible. We create customized therapeutic plans with the information that we gather during the evaluation process.

PACE Mental Health Houston isn’t just a standard adult counseling clinic. We take therapy a step further by putting your needs ahead of our own. In fact, we offer a variety of services to help you overcome your mental health problems, including:

Don’t wait to get the help that you need to put your mental health problems behind you. Let PACE Mental Health Houston conduct a psychiatric evaluation. Reach out to us at 866.971.8423 to take your first step toward a brighter tomorrow.