As Loudoun County VA divorce lawyers and family law attorneys, the Law Office of William R.F. Conners, P.C., is practiced in complex divorce, custody and other family law cases. In such cases, mental health evaluations are sometimes utilized to determine the mental health of the Parties and inform various family law issues such as custody and visitation determinations.  A simple mental health evaluation involves basic objective testing, subjective observations and interview with collateral sources. A compressive evaluation involves a full blown forensic mental health evaluation which employs all the foregoing elements of a mental health evaluation in conjunction with a battery of complicated objective psychological testing.  Mental health evaluations can vary in scope and methodology employed but the best are forensically based and employ objective, comprehensive psychological tests conducted by specially trained psychologists and psychiatrists.

Many times, forensic psychological testing can reveal if a test subject suffers from psychological problems. For example, in child custody or visitation cases, courts may order such evaluations in order to determine the mental health and fitness to parent of either custodian. Sometimes, Parties in litigation may even agree to undergo such testing to either demonstrate their own fitness if challenged and/or to investigate claimed mental health issues in an opposing party.  Additionally, the selection of a competent and expert mental health evaluator is critical as whether the evaluator is credentialed as a psychologist and/or psychiatrist is merely the first qualification among many. Lastly, the cost of a mental health or forensic mental health evaluation is dependent on the facts, complexities and needs of the case.

Following is an overview of some of the tests typically performed by trained forensic mental health examiners when conducting forensic mental health evaluations in Loudoun divorce, family law or custody cases:

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2nd Edition (MMPI 2): Used to assess and diagnose mental illness. The full-length version of the test may take up to 90 minutes to complete. The test aims to identify abnormal behavior in ten major categories and utilizes “validity scales” to determine test takers’ attitudes toward the test and whether they answered the test questions in a truthful and accurate manner.

Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-3rd Edition (MCMI-III): Relatively short test, taking about 30 minutes to complete. It measures for personality disorders and clinical syndromes. It also can be helpful in determining a test taker’s personality style and coping behaviors that may impact their lives and the lives of those around them.

Rorschach Inkblot Method: Used to examine a test taker’s perception of inkblot images, which- like a cloud in the sky- may look like one thing to one person and something different to another. Test takers’ reactions to images are analyzed to gain insight into their personality characteristics, emotional functioning, underlying feelings or internal conflicts.

Beck Depression Inventory- 2nd Edition (BDI-I1) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) are tests used to determine if a test taker recently has experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety, and the seriousness of those symptoms.

Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI): Assessment of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and other post-traumatic emotional problems. It is often used if the test taker has been a victim of rape, spousal abuse, physical assault, combat experience, a major accident, natural disaster, childhood abuse, or other traumatic event.