The Clinical Mental Health Counselor’s Guide to Psychological Testing

Description: Want to advance your clinical skills while expanding your clinical practice with billable hours that typically pay more than psychotherapy?  In Florida (and elsewhere), opportunities abound for counselors who have expertise in psychological testing.  Expertise in testing opens doors for counselors to bill commercial insurance and government funding sources at a rate that is typically higher than psychotherapy private pay evaluations, such as differential diagnosis evaluations for therapy clients, bariatric surgery evaluations, gender-affirming procedure evaluation, Department of Transportation violation (SAP) evaluations, suitability and fitness for duty evaluations, and forensic mental health evaluations (e.g., disability, child custody, personal injury, downward departure, immigration, etc.).  The first counselors were psychometricians who crafted and perfected the art and science of combining testing data with a therapeutic relationship and communication style to help clients make important decisions, potentially altering their life courses. Advance that legacy and take your practice to the next level with this 8-hour introductory workshop offered by the National Board of Forensic Evaluators, which will provide you with a foundation for psychological testing including an overview of laws, rules, ethical guidelines, and qualifications for testing; instruction on how to bill insurance companies and third party payers for testing services; introduction to tests commonly used in clinical and forensic cases; and “hands-on” appraisal activities coached by testing experts.

Earn 7 general CEs and 1 Ethics CE.

CE Broker Tracking #: 20-1095930

Learning Objectives:

1. Apply legal, ethical, and professional guidelines when administering, interpreting, and incorporating test results in clinical and forensic practice.
2. Administer and interpret DSM-5-TR cross cutting symptom measures and personality tests for differential diagnosis.
3. Bill commercial insurance companies, government agencies, and other third party payers for testing services.
4. Compose a written summary of test results in a clinical or forensic report.
5. List and describe various resources for developing testing competencies.

Dr. Aaron Norton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with certifications in addictions, alcohol and drug counseling, rehabilitation counseling, clinical mental health counseling, trauma treatment, forensic mental health evaluation, forensic behavioral analysis, and forensic psychometry. He serves as Executive Director of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators, Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida Dept. of Mental Health Law & Policy, Southern Regional Director, Ethics Committee Liaison, and International Counseling Task Force Chair for the American Mental Health Counselors Association, Chair of the Government Relations Committee for the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association, and Consulting Editor for AMHCA’s The Advocate Magazine. He co-authored the forensic evaluation section of the “AMHCA Standards for the Practice of Clinical Mental Health Counseling,” authored the proposal for AMHCA’s Clinical Mental Health Specialist in Forensic Evaluation (CMHS-FE) credential, and served on the expert panel that created the standards and written exam for the Florida Certification Board’s Certified Telehealth Practitioner (CTP) credential. He has 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and clinical and forensic evaluator, was awarded Mental Health Counselor of the Year by the American Mental Health Counselors Association in 2016, Counselor Educator of the Year by the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2016, Researcher of the Year by the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2019, and he was awarded AMHCA’s Public and Community Service Award in 2020. An experienced writer, presenter, and trainer, he has been published in several academic journals and professional magazines in the counseling profession.