Habilitation in the use of psychodiagnostic tests
As a reminder, to administer and interpret psychodiagnostic tests (Rorschach Comprehensive System test included), the only qualification required of a psychology graduate is registration with the Order of Psychologists (consult the Order of Psychologists for any questions about this and for the different competencies related to Roll A and Roll B).
There is no kind of “patent,” or “license” that can qualify one to use the tests other than registration with the Bar. Any training in psychodiagnostics certifies the acquisition of specific competence, but does not grant legal qualification to use tests.
Psychodiagnostic evaluation
Psychodiagnostic assessment can have several objectives: a first possible objective, specific to a clinical setting, is to best define the characteristics of a personality and the specific ways it employs to cope with problems and situations, manage emotions, relate to others, in order to understand the cause and psychological context in which a symptom, a psychological disorder, a specific suffering was formed, and thus to assess the best therapeutic strategy and the most appropriate goal for a targeted and realistic treatment project.
In the context of forensic evaluation, in both criminal and civil contexts, the goal is to identify the presence or absence of certain traits, or disorders, or resources, or skills, or impairments: in essence, it is to verify or falsify certain assumptions regarding a subject’s mental life.
The goal of our courses is to train experts in psychodiagnostics who are able to work in both of these settings.
Psychodiagnostic assessment employs the use of tests that must be rigorous, standardized and removed from the subjectivity of the diagnostician in the administration and processing phase, but then open, in the overall interpretation phase, to the emotional, cultural and scientific resonances that arise from the clinical encounter with the patient.
Our proposed test battery includes the most widely used tests in clinical and forensic settings, nationally and internationally: the Rorschach test (according to the Comprehensive System of J. Exner), the MMPI-2 multiphasic personality questionnaire, or the MMPI-2-RF version, the SCID-PD-5 structured interview, the TAT Thematic Apperception Test, the WAIS-IV intellectual level rating scale and the Family Genogram, an instrument developed in the systemic field that allows us to collect an articulated history of family history and contextualize the individual profile. For minors, in addition to the Rorschach Comprehensive System test, the TAT, Graph Tests, the WISC-IV scale, Duss’s Fables, and the MMPI-A questionnaire for adolescents. We also propose other tests that can complement this basic proposal, such as the PAI Questionnaire or the Vinelad-II scales for assessing adaptive skills.