Frequently Asked Questions


What is a psychological or psycho-educational evaluation?

A psychological or psycho-educational evaluation is an evaluation process that is designed to help identify a child’s strengths and weaknesses in a variety of areas, in order to provide recommendations to help the child succeed despite their difficulties. These evaluations can be used to provide diagnoses, and recommendations for treatment or further services. Psycho-educational testing can also be used for accommodations in school, college or SAT/ACT testing.

Psychological assessment/testing areas may include:

  • intelligence/cognitive abilities (verbal, visual-spatial, reasoning, memory, processing speed skills)

  • memory

  • expressive and receptive language/ communication

  • attention

  • executive functioning (planning, organization, time management, shifting between tasks, etc)

  • emotional functioning (anxiety, depression, self-esteem, personality traits, etc)

  • behavior

  • social skills

  • adaptive/daily living skills

  • autism spectrum symptoms

Psycho-educational assessment areas may include all of these above, in addition to:

  • academic skills (reading, writing, math, learning strategies)

Do you take insurance? What does insurance cover for evaluations and therapy?

I am only private pay (cash, check, or credit card online) for both evaluations and therapy. Payment plans for evaluations are divided into three payments: part due at the first testing session, a second portion due at the second session, and remaining balance due at the feedback session for the completed report. However, I am flexible with payment plans if needed, as I know the pandemic has impacted many families in different ways.

For evaluations, each insurance is different. No insurances cover academic testing, and psychological testing is only covered if it is deemed medically necessary, so it is best to check with your insurance if you are hoping to use your insurance for an evaluation.

What ages do you work with?

As a licensed educational psychologist, Dr. Trainor is able to work with children and teens aged 3-18. She is able to work with young adults if there is a connection to school, such as needing accommodations at college or on standardized testing, such as the LSAT, MCAT, etc.

What does the evaluation process involve?

Depending on the reason for referral and their age and needs, evaluations typically involve 4-8 hours of face-to face assessment with your child. You will likely be requested to complete developmental/ background questionnaires ahead of time, as well as some rating scales. You may also be asked to provide school work samples, and ask your child’s teacher to provide input via provided rating scales as well.

In-person evaluation sessions are typically scheduled around school schedules: on weekends, afternoons, during school vacations, and during the summer. Sessions are flexibly scheduled to how long your child may be able to work (with breaks or snacks as needed), but are typically scheduled for 2-5 hours depending on the child’s age and needs, so it may involve 1-3 sessions of face-to-face assessment.

A feedback session to review the results, recommendations, and next steps is scheduled several weeks later, after all data is gathered and interpreted. Depending on your child’s age, it may be beneficial to include them in this part of the process as well to help them better understand their own strengths and weaknesses. The report is provided at this time.

What is your fee for evaluations and therapy?

Evaluation fees are $175.00 per hour, for between 15-20 hours depending on the needs (total estimate $2,600-$3,500). This includes interview, assessment, consultation with school, medical, and/or therapy team, scoring and interpretation, report writing, and feedback session. The cost is broken down into a deposit at the first session, a second partial payment at the second scheduled session, and the remaining balance is due at the feedback session when the report is provided.

For therapy, the cost is $150 per 55-60 minute session.

What should I expect for me and my child going into a therapy?

Sessions are typically 55-60 minutes, and can be scheduled on a weekly basis, every other week, or an as needed basis. The first session is typically considered an intake session to learn more about your needs and concerns. Later sessions may focus on developing and practicing coping strategies, problem-solving challenging social or emotional situations. Depending on your child’s age, you may be asked to join sessions, or they may wish to meet alone with check-ins with the parent at the beginning or end of the session. Different strategies may involve art, role-playing, practicing strategies in session, and/or involving Hannah the therapy dog for animal-assisted interventions, if desired.

Do you have a cancellation policy?

Life happens and you may need to cancel or reschedule. Please contact me with at least 24 hours advanced notice via phone call, text, or email. Cancellations or no shows without 24 hour notice will be charged a fee of $50. If you decide to cancel services after documentation has been mailed to you for testing (such as rating scales ahead of your appointment), you will be charged an additional fee of $25 due to the cost of these forms.