The Gist:

• Psychologists diagnose and treat behavioral and mental health issues, including learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, PTSD and eating disorders.

• They’re not medical doctors, so they don’t prescribe medication  (but may partner with an MD who does).

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Let’s say your little one has been in speech therapy or occupational therapy and done well. And now they’re ready for “Big Kid School”. If there are any remaining concerns about learning, attention, literacy or numeracy (math), it might be time to seek out an evaluation from a Child Psychologist.

Or let’s say you are really concerned about your child’s mood: they seem sad and angry virtually all of the time. They react strongly to minor incidents, and you’ve already ruled out a sensory integration disorder as a potential cause (see my post on Occupational Therapists here). A child psychologist might be next on your list of team members.

I usually don’t refer kids to a psychologist until they’re over six, because the tests just aren’t designed for younger kids. You don’t get good information, and you can’t use a lot of the tests that exist. 

We might suspect a learning or attention issue when a child is very young. But, after about age six or seven, we can start to see how “Big Kid School” impacts their learning and behavior and bring the psychologist into the picture.

Some psychologists just do evaluations (keep an eye out for my interview with Dr. Nina Kayce); some just do therapy, and some do both. Different practitioners have different styles and different ways of treating patients, so you’ll want to ask questions and get a feel for the person.  

You’ll want to know their views on medication to treat various diagnoses. Some practitioners support the use of medication; some really don’t. (This is a whole blog post in and of itself!) Whatever your views on the subject of medication, you’ll want to find someone whose view matches yours.

You’ll want to make sure they specialize in the area(s) that you’re asking about. If you have questions about your child’s ability to learn to read, definitely see someone who has experience diagnosing dyslexia! (Actually, that’s another blog post too, since speech therapists can also diagnose dyslexia.) If your child has experienced trauma, definitely see someone who is experienced in trauma-informed care.

A psychologist is often a “next level” of care after introducing speech therapy, physical therapy and/or occupational therapy. For when you need a formal diagnosis in order to access services or for when previous therapies just aren’t enough.

Keep an eye out for more blogs, newsletters and videos on how you can compile the rest of your team.

All my best-

Gabriele