Clinical Assessments

Anger and stress aggravate our emotional and mental health symptoms; hence our interest in clinically assessing its intensity and how frequently this emotion manifests over time. Anger management evaluations are designed to help you examine anger management areas in which you may need improvement. In fact, anger management evaluations are recommended for anyone facing personal problems, work-related issues, or legal charges because of anger. If you were arrested, charged, or convicted of a violent or abusive crime, you may be required to complete an anger management evaluation.

Our anger management evaluations are evidence-based and are conducted by a Certified Anger Management Specialist. The assessment is both objective and subjective to accurately quantify the effect anger has on your life and on those around you. It measures several behavioral patterns and provides important information regarding your family history, current and previous charges, demeanor, state and trait anger expression, and anger management skills.

Our evaluation process is very simple. It begins at intake with a comprehensive clinical assessment which provides us with background information. This is followed by the anger management evaluation which includes scales that measure your tendency to minimize problems and concerns, how anger moves on a continuum from annoyance to rage - a helpful tool to identify individuals who are dangerous to themselves or others, and how effectively you cope with anger, stress, tension and pressure. Once the evaluation is complete, your therapist will offer recommendations as to whether anger management is appropriate and explain the results of your tests; it is possible that there is no basis to suggest you have problems controlling your anger.

Anyone facing domestic violence or disorderly conduct charges, who has been in a domestic dispute or altercation at work, who display anger in public, who is on parole, probation or pretrial diversion.

An immigration evaluation is a mental health assessment that will be used by immigration court to determine whether you can legally remain in the United States. It is conducted by a licensed mental health professional and sent to your attorney. An effective immigration evaluation often addresses the psychological aspects of various legal points and expand beyond what is covered in clinical assessments.

The immigration evaluation includes in-depth interviews that occur over the course of 3 to 4 meetings. You will be asked questions regarding your personal and family history, work history, medical and psychiatric history, and immigration status as they pertain to the case. Pertinent information regarding your psychological and emotional state will be collected using some of the following instruments: Post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive/intelligence, adaptive behavior, mental status, depression, anxiety, attention deficit, partner violence, measures of violent behavior and tendencies, measures of achievement, personality inventories, and malingered symptoms.

Expert Witness: Fees for court testifying are $200/hour and there is a 3-hour minimum. If you have any questions or would like to schedule an evaluation, please call our office at 910-777-5575.

A Risk Assessment is a clinical evaluation used to predict the degree of possibility of a sexual re-offense. Here at WMH, we use structured and research guided assessment tools to determine risk levels and make recommendations regarding treatment and danger posed to the public. If you are facing a sentence or criminal adjudication, need a decision regarding treatment needs, are registered as sex offender and waiting for a classification, or have a civil commitment proceeding, most likely would be asked to take an RA since courts have long supported mental health treatment as an alternative to jail.

The assessment starts with a list of factors that are likely to be related to risk, drawn from personal experience. Our assessment use actuarial tools and incorporate dynamic risk factors such as the offender's age at the time of assessment factors during testing. Risk factors are assessed on the basis of their nature, origin and effect to increase reliability and validity and to provide precise estimates of recidivism risk. The assessment incorporate protective and relevant factors, informs the development of treatment, and facilitates the patient’s engagement in the assessment process.

WMH RA evaluators receive training and are undergo monitoring to ensure that risk assessment procedures and instruments are used appropriately and with integrity.

Risk is defined as the probability that a person will engage in a certain kind of behavior in the future. A risk assessment is a procedure we use to gather important characteristics about individuals who have been involved in intimate partner violence and use that information to predict the likelihood of re-abuse, enhance safety for victims, and manage risks posed to victims.

Our treatment providers follow a decision-making process to estimate, identify, qualify, or quantify risk, but also to offer recommendations regarding treatment. Intervention is sensible to the risk caused by batterers to the victims and the victim’s immediate personal circumstances that may increase their vulnerability – such ass self-harm. We account for factors that may exacerbate those risks and strongly advocate for the victims by providing ease of access to mental health services and community resources. We listen to the victims and do not place them in situations where there is any possibility of further risk from their abusers.

Benefits

• Help identify risk levels of recidivism, inform conditions of release, and need for supervision.
• Provide intimate partner victims and case managers relevant information to develop more realistic safety plans
• Educate our community and the justice system about domestic violence
• Offers evidence-based best practices for batter intervention programs.

A drug and alcohol evaluation is used to analyze your substance use history and give your treatment provider more information about the situation you are in. In some case it is possible to know what substances you are using, the dosage and frequency of consumption, which can guide treatment lead to specific recommendations being made regarding your treatment.

Some drug and alcohol evaluations are conducted for medical purpose while others are requested by court for legal procedures. Your evaluation will follow a screening process that includes the completion of a clinical assessment in addition to the drug and alcohol test. You will be asked to provide a urine sample to establish a baseline. After assessment is done and reviewed, recommendations regarding treatment or education are made. Depending on the result, you may be required to participate in individual or group therapy sessions, substance abuse education class, or rehabilitation program. Our Level 1 Outpatient Substance Abuse Program requires participation in at least two support groups per week and random drug and/or alcohol urine testing in addition to therapy.

60% of individuals identified with a substance abuse also have a co-occurring disorder

IMPORTANT NOTICE
WMH does not provide alcohol and drug evaluations for court at this time. These types of evaluations need to be done through a certified DUI/DWI state agency. In most cases they are required in legal procedures for driving under the influence (DUIs), disorderly conduct while intoxicated, possession of drugs or alcohol; public intoxication, drug trafficking or distribution; manufacturing and/or distribution of controlled substances; and/or use of fake IDs for purchase or consumption.