In a year, millions of individuals are required by courts to get counseling or psychological assessments. Usually, these are required because of one being arrested for a DUI or family violence.
Are you looking for an expert to provide the required counseling or evaluation? It is crucial that when you need to obtain an assessment or counseling for either yourself or a family member, be sure to select the professional who is the most highly qualified.
Choosing a professional on impulse should be avoided at all costs, especially since you will want the doctors findings to be highly respected and influential with the court. That is why it is crucial that you carefully choose a doctor who is a clinical psychologist.
After all, your health and the legal consequences resulting from your arrest should not be placed in the hands of an ordinary psychiatrist or counselor. Remember, psychiatrists have almost no expertise in providing psychological evaluations or counseling services.
Their main expertise is in the prescribing of drugs for psychiatric patients. Also, professional counselors or social workers have little to no expertise in providing psychological assessments; however, they do have some expertise in counseling.
Social workers and counselors typically have a masters degree reflecting one to 2 years of training after college. On the other hand a clinical psychologist has a doctoral degree, reflecting his full 3 to 5 years of training after college.
In fact, the psychologist is the only mental health professional who is fully trained in providing both psychological assessments and counseling services. This is why he is highly influential and very respected by the court.
There are several ways to find a clinical psychologist. One of the easiest and most familiar ways is to peruse the local Yellow Pages.
Look under the heading of psychologists; however they are not sub categorized by specialty. In addition to checking the Yellow Pages, then, see what help the internet can provide.
There are numerous online professional directories that work just like the Yellow Pages. By searching for a clinical psychologist, you will get numerous listings of contact information for those in your locale.
However, online phone books and professional directories do not always categorize their listings. Therefore, if you are looking for a psychologist who concentrates his practice in the areas of domestic abuse, alcohol problems or psychological evaluations and assessments, it would behoove you to conduct a routine internet search.
This type of search will not only provide you with the name of a local clinical psychologist, but it may also provide a link to any online website he may have. Another way that you can find a psychologist is by consulting a representative of your health insurance company or searching the companys directory of preferred providers.
In fact, many health insurance policies require that before obtaining services, you first notify the insurance company to receive a referral to any service provider, including a psychologist. One problem, however, is that some of them will not approve reimbursement for any court-ordered services.
Most of those that do, however, maintain a network of affiliated psychologists who will enthusiastically accept your insurance. If your health insurance company will pay for court-ordered psychological assessments and counseling, it does make sense for you to select a psychologist who is a member of its provider network.
As you can see, there are numerous ways that you can find a clinical psychologist who will do court-ordered counseling and evaluations. Whether you choose to use the internet, the Yellow Pages, or referrals from your insurance company, it is crucial that you use a clinical psychologist.
After all, he is the one mental health expert who is likely to be the most highly regarded by the court. And, do not forget: The outcome of your case may depend on him!
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