Assessments

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the questions we hear most about psychological assessment —
how to know if you need one, how it works, who it is for, and what it costs.

Do I Need This?
How It Works
Who It’s For
Cost & Insurance

Do I Need This?

If you have questions about how your mind works, or your child’s, that have not been answered through therapy, school evaluations, or medical appointments, a comprehensive psychological assessment may be exactly what you need. Testing is most helpful when you are trying to understand a pattern that nobody has been able to explain, confirm or clarify a diagnosis, or get documentation that supports accommodations at school or work. If you have been wondering for a while, that is usually reason enough to reach out. Not sure where to start? Reach out for a free consultation, and we will take it from there.

Yes, and this is one of the most common reasons families come to us. When a child is clearly capable but cannot seem to keep up, or when teachers and parents can see the struggle but cannot name it, a comprehensive psychological assessment can provide the clarity everyone has been looking for. Testing can identify learning differences, attention difficulties, processing challenges, and other factors that affect how a child learns, and it provides the documentation schools need to put the right supports in place. You do not have to keep advocating without answers.

A formal evaluation is the only way to get a definitive answer. Many people suspect ADHD for years before seeking testing, and many are surprised by what a thorough assessment reveals. Sometimes the picture is exactly what they expected. Sometimes there is more to it. Either way, a comprehensive assessment gives you something a self-diagnosis or a quick screening cannot: a complete, clinically valid picture of what is actually going on and a report that your therapist, prescriber, school, or employer can use.

Absolutely. A previous diagnosis is not a reason to skip testing, it is often a reason to pursue it. Diagnoses evolve as people grow and as life circumstances change. Testing can confirm that a diagnosis still fits, clarify whether something else might also be going on, or provide updated documentation when older reports no longer reflect who you are today. Many adults come to us with diagnoses from childhood that have never been revisited. Many clients come because their current treatment is not working and they want to understand why. Testing can help answer both of those questions.

Therapy is an ongoing process focused on treatment, building skills, processing experiences, and working toward specific goals over time. Psychological testing is a time-limited evaluation focused on assessment, understanding how your mind works, clarifying a diagnosis, and providing a report with specific recommendations. The two are complementary. Many people find that a thorough assessment makes their therapy significantly more effective because their therapist finally has the full picture. Centered Mind Counseling Services is a separate practice that shares ownership with Centered Connections. They offer therapy and psychiatry in Issaquah and Sammamish. If your assessment points toward a need for ongoing care, that team is nearby and we can help make that connection.

How Does It Work?

Every assessment at Centered Connections begins before a single test is chosen. You start with a free consultation, then meet with your testing psychologist for a dedicated conversation about what is going on, what you have tried, and what you need to understand. From that conversation, your psychologist builds your assessment around you, selecting the measures that will give you the clearest picture of what is actually happening. Testing typically takes place over one or more sessions. When testing is complete, you receive a comprehensive written report with specific recommendations, followed by a feedback session where we walk through every finding together. We do not consider our work done until you leave with clarity.

A comprehensive assessment at Centered Connections typically takes place over one or two testing days, depending on the scope of your assessment. A more targeted evaluation may require less time, while a broader or more complex assessment may require more. We will always be clear with you about what to expect before you commit to anything. We do not rush the process. The goal is a thorough, accurate picture, not a quick turnaround.

Your report is written to be used, not filed away. It includes a summary of all findings, diagnostic conclusions where applicable, a clear explanation of your or your child’s cognitive and emotional profile, and specific recommendations tailored to your situation. Those recommendations may include school accommodations, therapeutic approaches, workplace supports, and detailed clinical information to help your prescriber make more informed treatment decisions. The report is written in plain language so you can understand it, and in clinical language so your treatment team, school, or employer can use it.

A feedback session is a dedicated meeting with your testing psychologist after your report is complete. We walk through every finding together, in plain language, and answer every question you have. It is not a formality and it is not optional at Centered Connections. We include it as part of every assessment because we believe handing someone a report without walking them through it misses the entire point. You deserve to understand what the assessment found, what it means for your life, and what to do with it. The feedback session is where that happens.

No referral is needed. You can contact Centered Connections directly to schedule a free consultation. Many of our clients come to us on their own, having decided they are ready for answers. Others come at the suggestion of a therapist, prescriber, pediatrician, or school counselor. Either way, the process starts the same way, a conversation about what you are looking for and how we can help.

Who Is It For?

Yes. We offer comprehensive psychological assessments for children and teens of all ages. Whether your child is struggling in school, has recently received a diagnosis you want to better understand, or is experiencing challenges that nobody has been able to explain, testing can provide the clarity you have been looking for. Parents are an important part of the process, we gather information from you as well as from your child, and we make sure you leave the feedback session with a clear understanding of what the assessment found and what to do with it.

Yes. Psychological testing is not just for children, and it is never too late to get answers. Many adults come to us having spent years wondering why certain things have always felt harder than they seem to for everyone else. Others come because a diagnosis from childhood no longer seems to fit, or because their current treatment is not working and they want to understand why. An assessment can provide clarity at any age. We provide affirming, respectful care for individuals of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. For many adults, it is the first time anyone has looked carefully and thoroughly enough to tell them what is actually going on.

Yes, and this is more common than many people realize. ADHD and autism present differently in adults than they do in children, and both are significantly underdiagnosed in adults, particularly in women. Many adults who come to us for ADHD or autism testing have spent decades developing workarounds, compensating strategies, and explanations for why things felt harder than they should. A comprehensive assessment can finally put a name to the experience, validate what you have been living with, and open the door to support that actually fits.

School evaluations are designed to determine eligibility for school-based services. They answer a specific, narrow question. A private comprehensive psychological assessment answers a much broader one. It is not limited by what the school district needs to document, and it is not constrained by time or resources. A private assessment can explore areas that a school evaluation may not have covered, provide a more complete picture of your child’s cognitive and emotional profile, and offer recommendations that go beyond the school setting, for therapy, medical care, and daily life at home. Many families pursue a private assessment after a school evaluation precisely because they still have questions the school evaluation did not answer.

Reaching out is simple. Contact us directly by phone or email and we will take it from there. We welcome referrals from therapists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, pediatricians, and other clinicians. When you refer a client to Centered Connections, you can expect a thorough assessment process, a report written to be clinically useful to you and your team, and clear communication throughout. If you have specific clinical questions you would like the assessment to address, let us know, we will make sure those questions are part of the conversation from the start. If your client needs ongoing therapy or psychiatric care after their assessment, Centered Mind Counseling Services is a separate practice that shares ownership with Centered Connections and can help with that next step.

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Cost & Insurance

How much does a psychological assessment cost?

Centered Connections was built because too many people were going through the assessment process and coming out the other side without answers. Reports that sat in drawers. Diagnoses that did not quite fit. Treatment teams working from incomplete pictures. Families who had spent thousands of dollars on testing that did not tell them what they needed to know.

The reason that happens so often comes down to how most assessments are built. Around what insurance will authorize, not around the person sitting in the chair. Measures get left out. Time gets cut. The report gets written to satisfy a billing code, not to answer the questions that brought someone in.

We built Centered Connections to do it differently. Every assessment begins with a real conversation between you and your testing psychologist, before a single test is chosen. Together, you determine what the assessment needs to answer. Your psychologist then selects the measures that will give you the clearest, most complete picture of what is actually happening. Nothing is left out for financial reasons. Nothing is added that does not serve you.

Comprehensive Assessment — One Flat Rate

$5,500

No add-ons. No surprise fees. No line items that appear after the fact.

That flat rate covers the entire process, thorough, personalized, and built entirely around you: the initial consultation, your dedicated meeting with your psychologist, all testing sessions, the comprehensive written report with specific recommendations, and the feedback session where we walk through every finding together until you leave with clarity.

We know that is a meaningful investment. We also know that a thorough assessment, one that actually answers the questions that brought you here, can change the entire trajectory of care for you or your child. That is what we built this practice to provide.

If you would like to submit a claim to your insurance provider, we can provide a superbill upon request. It includes the diagnostic and procedure codes for the portions of your assessment that may be eligible for reimbursement. The total reflected will likely be lower than the amount you paid. That is not a reflection of what you received. It is a reflection of what insurance will recognize.

Centered Connections is a private pay practice, which means we do not bill insurance directly. If you have out-of-network mental health benefits, your plan may reimburse a portion of your assessment. But reimbursement for psychological testing varies widely, and in many cases is limited or denied entirely. We want you to know that going in, not after the fact.

The most useful thing you can do before your assessment is call your insurance provider and ask specifically about your out-of-network benefits for psychological testing. Ask what they cover, what they exclude, and what documentation they require. If you would like to submit a claim, we can provide a superbill upon request. All reimbursement decisions rest with your plan.

A superbill is a detailed receipt of services that includes the diagnostic codes, procedure codes, and provider information your insurance company needs to process a reimbursement claim. After your assessment is complete, you can request one from Centered Connections and submit it directly to your insurance provider.

A few things worth knowing before you do. The superbill includes only the diagnostic and procedure codes for the portions of your assessment that may be eligible for insurance reimbursement. Because a comprehensive private pay assessment includes components that fall outside what insurance billing codes recognize, the total reflected on the superbill will likely be lower than the amount you paid. That is not a reflection of what you received. It is a reflection of what insurance will recognize.

Your insurance provider will determine whether your out-of-network benefits apply and what reimbursement, if any, you are eligible for.

All reimbursement decisions rest with your plan.

When your insurance company looks at a superbill, they see a set of billing codes that correspond to specific, defined clinical activities that may be eligible for reimbursement. Much of what makes a comprehensive assessment at Centered Connections worth having does not have a code at all.

The conversation that shapes every decision that follows. The careful work of designing a battery that actually fits your situation. The review of records that gives your psychologist context before testing begins. The coordination with your therapist, your prescriber, your child’s school. The cost of the testing materials themselves. A feedback session that goes beyond what a standard billing code recognizes.

All of those things are real. All of them are part of what you received. They simply do not exist in the language insurance uses.

The superbill reflects what insurance will recognize. The assessment reflects what you actually needed. Those are two different things. And the gap between them is not a mistake. It is the difference between care built around a billing code and care built around you.

Because private pay is what allows us to do this work the way it should be done. When insurance drives the process, the assessment is limited to what will be authorized and reimbursed. Measures get left out. Time gets cut. Reports get written to satisfy billing codes rather than to answer the questions that brought someone in. Private pay removes all of those constraints. It means your assessment is determined entirely by what you need to understand, not by what an insurance company will approve. It means nothing gets left out for financial reasons. And it means the report you receive is written to be useful to you, your family, and your treatment team. That is the practice we wanted to build. Private pay is how we build it.

A comprehensive assessment at Centered Connections is not a transaction. It is a process. You get a free initial consultation, a dedicated meeting with your testing psychologist where your assessment takes shape around your specific questions, testing sessions conducted at a pace that works for you or your child, a comprehensive written report with specific recommendations, and a feedback session where we walk through every finding together until you leave with clarity. You also get a report that your school, therapist, prescriber, and employer can actually use, one that does not just describe what was found but gives you and your team a clear path forward. For many people, a thorough assessment is the turning point, the moment everything that came before finally starts to make sense. That is what we are here to provide.

We know that knowing what to expect makes the whole process feel less daunting for you and for your child. We have put together a dedicated guide that walks families through everything they need to know before, during, and after the assessment. It covers how to talk to your child about testing, what to bring, what testing day looks like, and how to make the most of the feedback session.

Ready When You Are

The First Step Is Just a Conversation.

If something here resonated, for yourself, for your child, or for a client you are hoping to help, the next step is simple.

Reach out for a free consultation. No pressure, no commitment, no forms to fill out before anyone will speak with you. Just a conversation about what you are looking for and how we can help. We would be glad to walk alongside you.

Learn About Our Assessments
Referring a Client? Contact Us