Please find the answers to many common questions below. If your question is not listed here please call our office and we would be happy to answer your question.
A doctor’s referral is not required. In some cases, a medical doctor will make a referral for a child or youth to receive a psychological assessment, but this is not a requirement in order to access our service. (Please note that your extended health plan may require a physician’s referral in order to provide reimbursement for psychological services, and we recommend that you review plan prior to scheduling an appointment at our office.)
The preferred method of payment is e-transfer. When you are ready to book the assessment there is a nonrefundable booking fee to secure your spot and is included in the cost of the assessment. The final amount is due typically the day before if paying by e-transfer in order to ensure payment has cleared. We also accept cash and cheque for the balance.
We will issue a receipt to you to forward to your Extended Health Benefits Plan for reimbursement or to retain as a medical expense for income tax purposes, if applicable.
If the child is seen through the Interior Health Children’s Assessment Network, the costs are covered by the provincial government (contact 250-712-0416 for more information about the IHCAN program). Please speak with your family physician or pediatrician regarding a referral to IHCAN if you are looking for a funded ASD assessment. There are typically much longer wait times for an assessment through the IHCAN program.
Some families may qualify for funding through a third party such as MCFD, Variety or Indigenous Canada, their school or band. We require proof that the third party is going to be paying in order for your child to join our wait list.
Many extended health plans provide some coverage for psychological services. Check your plan for specific information. Your coverage can be discussed with our office further when you call to book an appointment. We do not directly bill extended health plans but we work carefully with you to try to provide you with the necessary documentation to meet your plan’s needs and to maximize your coverage.
Our psychologists are either clinical psychologists (registered psychologists) or educational/clinical consultants working under the supervision of registered psychologists. Our clinical psychologists sometimes work together with psychometricians to conduct assessments in an efficient manner. Your child will work with the psychologist but may also work with the psychological assistant for a portion of the time, such as when the psychologist is meeting with parents to gather relevant background information. In some cases, our psychologists work as a team to complete the assessments.
The psychologist will meet with you to discuss the assessment findings, including any diagnoses and primary recommendations. You will also receive a written report that provides detailed documentation of the assessment findings and related recommendations. Recommendations may include referrals to relevant service providers and supportive agencies.
Information shared with a psychologist is confidential and cannot be disclosed without the client’s consent except under certain specific conditions concerning a child’s safety or where our information is subpoenaed in court proceedings. In the case of children and youth, parent or guardian consent is required (when there is shared guardianship between parents, such as in a divorce situation, consent from both guardians is required).
In the case of private assessments, our reports are released only as the client directs, however, please note that if a 3rd party has paid for the assessment (school, band office, MCFD, etc.) then that agency will receive a copy of the report unless otherwise agreed upon.
In the case of assessments conducted through the medical system, our reports are shared only with the referring medical doctors, Interior Health, and as directed by parents/guardians. We do not share assessment information directly with schools or other agencies without express permission from families. If there is a need or desire to disclose information from files with another professional (for example a medical doctor, teacher, etc.), the client will be consulted first and asked to sign a release of information document.
Our psychologists are contracted through IHCAN (government funded assessments) and also complete assessments privately. Our private ASD assessments follow the same provincial standards and guidelines as the IHCAN, BCAAAN and NHAN assessments and may sometimes be more comprehensive for children over age 6 if you choose to complete extra psychoeducational testing in addition to the ASD portion of the assessment. For children under age 6, private assessments require that a pediatrician has seen the child and that a speech language pathologist has assessed the child. IHCAN ASD assessments do not have this same requirement and family physicians can refer.
It is helpful if we know whether you are looking for:
- A psychoeducational assessment (learning/academic, ADHD concerns only,
- An ASD assessment (autism spectrum testing only-including anxiety/mood issues),
- A social emotional assessment (anxiety/mood concerns only) or
- A combination.
That will determine cost, wait list time, etc.
Please note that the ASD assessment incorporates many aspects of social emotional assessment and so most people would not book both. Please also note that the ASD assessment often has the longer wait time as only some of our psychologists are qualified specialists in this specific area.
If you are looking for an assessment for adult services such as Community Living BC, it is important for us to know if the individual has had a recent IQ test and whether you are wanting IQ testing only, IQ and adaptive functioning testing, adaptive functioning testing only (if IQ has been tested recently already). Note that psychoeducational assessments for youth ages 15 and older incorporate adaptive functioning when applicable.
Please note that when you are ready to book an assessment there is a booking fee to secure your spot (which will be included in the final assessment cost).