Independent Psychological Assessment

Featuring Dr. Dan Bilsker, PhD, Rpsych

Duration: 2 minutes, 11 seconds

An independent psychological assessment is a form of medical evaluation that is often requested by insurance companies who want to better understand why a particular claimant is off on a disability claim.

Frequently, those kind of assessments are going to be requested when the claim is triggered by a particular psychological problem or disorder, and when the individual has been off for a considerable period of time.

The independent psychological assessment really has two functions: one, determining the kinds of psychological disorders or impairments that may be the prime difficulty in driving the difficulty in this case as well as determining how those impairments might relate to that person's ability to carry out their work functions.

But the other part that is likely more important and has more potential power in successfully resolving cases is that of determining in a comprehensive and sophisticated way, what the factors are that are driving this problem.

The kinds of workplace issues or challenges that might have been related to the onset of the problem, as well as the individual coping issues or vulnerabilities that might have interacted with the workplace situation to create and generate psychological problems and eventually psychological disorders.

This more sophisticated and comprehensive approach can create a powerful platform for planning interventions and strategies that are going to be maximally effective in helping this person recover their work function, in helping them return to work, and ultimately closing and resolving this claim in a way that is beneficial to all the parties involved.

It's worth keeping in mind that disability claims related to psychological problems are often longer lasting than other kinds of claims, they're highly likely to recur, and therefore they're extremely costly for the individual, for the insurer and for the employer.

If we can find more sophisticated, powerful ways of resolving these claims by resolving the problem, then there's a general win-win situation, and it's really to everyone's benefit.

Presenter: Dr. Dan Bilsker, Psychologist, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Psychologist