The Testing Psychologist Podcast

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” Continuing with the idea of systems and getting our practices to a more manageable place, I’m talking with Dr. Mike Docktor today. Mike is a pediatric gastroenterologist and co-founder of Dock Health, a task management software platform specifically for healthcare professionals. If you’ve ever found yourself thin...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. Dr. Nicole Vienna of Vienna Psychological Group is here to chat about youthful offender evaluations, a specialty area within her forensic practice. These evaluations play an important role in the sentencing and parole process for juveniles, shaping their lives and influencing important legal decisions. Nicole also hosts the Forensic Psychologist po...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . Let’s rewind to four years ago when I was super confused and overwhelmed with the financial aspect of my practice. I knew I needed to be saving for retirement but didn’t know how to balance that need with other financial obligations. Luckily, I got connected with Ariel Ward and her team at Abacus Wealth. She’s here today to walk us through the ins...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. Welcome back to another happy hour episode! After having so much fun during the first episode back in February 2020, we thought we’d make this a regular thing. These episodes are meant to be a more informal, casual discussion of a wide range of topics – testing-related and otherwise. Here are a few things that we touch on during this conversa...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . Welcome to Summer Slam #3! If you haven’t checked out the previous two episodes of Summer Slam, definitely go back and listen to those for some quick, actionable tips that you can start working on asap. Today’s episode is about revisiting your rates. Theoretically, we should be raising our rates at least once a year, but many of us either forget o...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . Dr. Esther Geva is here to talk through her work with assessing English language learners. She has worked for years in this arena and has literally co-written the book on culturally and linguistically diverse children. Esther shared a number of meaningful stories and case examples to really bring these principles to life. Here are just a few thing...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . Welcome to Summer Slam #2! If you didn’t catch Summer Slam #1 on building your ideal schedule, make sure to go back and listen. The Summer Slam series is meant to be a few short, easy-to-implement tips to fine tune your practice over the next few months.  For Summer Slam #2, we’re talking about revising your battery. How many of us have been...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . “There are two purposes of an evaluation in my mind: preservation of self-esteem for the child and peace of mind for parents.” Preschool assessment is a relatively untouched topic here on the podcast, but that changes with today’s episode! Dr. Stephanie Meyer is here to chat with me about her extensive work in assessing children under five years o...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . Did anyone else watch pro wrestling as a kid? My brother, cousin, and I would gather around the TV and watch anything from the WWF, WCW, WWE…whatever we could find. Then we would re-enact the moves using our stuffed animals and, sometimes, one another. So when I was searching for a name for this short summer series of podcasts, “Summer Slam”...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. Dr. Ben Lovett is back and talking all about his book, Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities. He has a stellar command of the research in this field from having done it himself and reviewed so much of it while writing the book. Here are a few things that we talked about: When to have individuals take medication (or not) prior to tes...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . How many times have you entered the testing room, started the battery, and figured out that you left something crucial in another office (for me, it’s always my phone/stopwatch)? Or how many times have you sent out a report only to get an email back from the client asking why there’s another name on the report? Yikes! Both of these – and man...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . How many times have you run into challenging or ambiguous ethical situations and looked around your office, wishing an attorney would appear to answer all of your questions? For me, it’s countless. Dr. Amanda Zelechoski doesn’t answer ALL the questions that have ever come up, but she came really close on today’s episode! As a dual attorney-psychol...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. Today I’m addressing another frequent question from the Facebook group and my consulting clients: where can I find CEU credits on assessment-related topics? While it can be harder to find testing-specific topics than therapy-related topics, there are some good options out there that cover a variety of assessment-related information. Cool Things Men...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . Irritability in kids has been a personal and professional interest for nearly two decades. I went to grad school at a time when pediatric bipolar disorder was the “hot” diagnosis, only to find out several years later that the irritability so often seen as representative of bipolar in kids did not actually predict a bipolar diagnosis during adultho...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here “If you’re not comfortable asking for someone’s CV, why are you comfortable asking for their advice?” I cannot count how many times I’ve seen requests for clinical consultation come up in the Testing Psychologist Community and elsewhere. Fortunately, Dr. Kathryn Esquer has made a career out of connecting with others and helping them connect with one...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . Today’s interview was fascinating. I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Ted Cunliffe and Dr. Jason Smith, two of the co-authors of the book, Understanding Female Offenders. These guys have spent their careers working with- and studying female offenders and share a wealth of information from their own research and elsewhere. These are just a few...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. “Systems come from within.” We’ve been talking a lot about systems on the podcast lately. Today I have a true master of systems, Natasha Vorompiova from Systems Rock, to share some of her philosophy and secrets on developing systems in your practice. I really connected with Natasha on our shared love of noticing and eliminating inefficiencies in da...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here The realm of psychopathology assessment is fascinating to me. Today I’m speaking with the developers of the SPECTRA Indices of Psychopathology, Dr. Mark Blais and Dr. Justin Sinclair, about their work to develop this measure over the last decade or so. They are kind enough to endure my naive questions about the measure and the assessment of psychopa...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . “Imposter syndrome is just a sign that I’m growing.” Uriah Guilford, the owner of The Productive Therapist virtual assistant company, joins me again today for another wide-ranging and dynamic conversation. I had a hard time coming up with a title because we discussed SO MANY topics and resources! Here are just a few things that we focus on: How vi...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. “We want to revolutionize testing in Puerto Rico.” Dr. Oxalis Jusino has made it her mission to advance the state of assessment in Puerto Rico. She also has an excellent Spanish-language podcast (linked in the show notes) all about conducting good assessments. Join us today as we talk through the ins and outs of testing “on the island.” These are j...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . “What are the three words that you want your website to evoke?” Are you a solo practitioner thinking about making the leap to a group testing practice? That’s where Dr. Mandi White-Ajmani was a few years ago, and she now has a thriving group practice in Brooklyn, New York with both therapists and neuropsychologists on staff. It was such a privileg...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. Ever wondered if diet really plays a role in ADHD? What about screen time? Is medication still the best treatment? Dr. Joel Nigg sits down with me today to talk about all of these things and many more. His most recent book presents the state of the literature on all things ADHD, from genes, to brain structure, to sleep, to parenting. Cool Things Me...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. Y’all, I cannot believe that we’ve hit 200 episodes! What an incredible trip. This episode is a little departure from normal…instead of me interviewing someone or monologuing on a business topic, I’ve invited my friend and colleague, Dr. Andres Chou, to interview ME. It’s a true gift to have this broad conversation with Andres. These are just...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . “We should not pathologize ‘normal’.” Do you include a PVT as part of your standard ADHD battery? If not, I bet you will after this episode! Drs. Julie Suhr and Allyson Harrison are here today talking through their research and experience with validity issues in ADHD assessment. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering if that young adult client RE...

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here . I’ve spoken with so many consulting clients over the last few years who want to transition to an all-testing practice and stop seeing therapy clients altogether. The problem is that it’s REALLY hard to cut down a therapy caseload in many cases. Today’s episode is all about how to do so ethically and practically. Here are few topics that I cover: T...