About My Practice

I conduct compassionate, comprehensive psychological assessments with children (ages 6+), adolescents, and adults. I started this practice to improve the quality of life for Triangle families and that of future generations. I do this by:

  • Giving parents the tools they need to understand why their child acts or thinks the way they do, find the next steps for treatment, and advocate for their child’s needs in school and in the community,

  • Collaborating with therapists and other treating professionals to heighten or quicken the success of therapy, and

  • Getting to the root of the problem so that medical professionals can determine the best course of treatment.

About My Process

Our first interaction is a phone call to determine if I am a good fit for your family. You can schedule this phone call by clicking on the Contact button. If you decide to start an assessment with me, we will complete it in the following process:

  1. Consultation/Intake meeting. The first meeting is consultation meeting. It can be held in my office or virtually, if preferred. For children and adolescents 15 and younger, this meeting is parents-only so that we can speak openly and confidentially. Adolescents ages 16-18 are encouraged to join this meeting with their parents. Adults usually attend alone, although they are welcome to bring a parent or spouse with them if they would like. The intake meeting lasts 1 to 1.5 hours. My main goal for this meeting is to generate a list of questions that you would like the assessment to answer about you or your child. Click here to see a list of common guiding questions. At this meeting I also explain how I work, answer questions you have about the process, and gather background information. By the end of this initial meeting, if you haven’t already, you will be able to determine if an assessment is the next right step for your family and if you trust me to be the psychologist to do it. On my end, I will have a good understanding of the purpose of the testing and what tests are needed to answer your questions. From there, we schedule the testing sessions.

  2. Testing sessions. Most assessments are completed in two or three 2-hour testing sessions (for adults, we can complete testing in one 4 to 5-hour session if preferred). We take as many breaks as needed. The testing sessions are held one-on-one in my office, where I have a comfortable testing room/office and a separate waiting area with complimentary Wi-Fi, coffee/tea, and water. The testing consists of interactive activities (like solving “brain-teaser” type problems or memorizing words), questionnaires, and open-ended tasks (like telling stories or finishing sentences). Click here to learn more about what the testing sessions are like. Around the same time, I send links to parents and teachers to complete online questionnaires about their observations of their child/student. Most children enjoy the testing sessions because they have my full attention and get to do things that are challenging and different from what they do at school. I won’t lie - some tasks are boring, and kids are tired by the time the session is over. However, most children I work with are excited to come back for their next testing session.

  3. Scoring and interpreting test results. You are not present for this part of the assessment process, but rest assured once the testing is complete, I am hard at work scoring and interpreting the test results.

  4. Discussion meeting. Within two weeks of completing testing (and getting those questionnaires turned in), I meet with you to review the assessment results and answer the questions we identified in the intake meeting. This meeting lasts 1 to 1.5 hours and can be held in my office or virtually, if preferred. We discuss the test results, what they mean in the real world, and how to use this information to help you or your child going forward. We also discuss if and how to share this information with your child and other important people in their life.

  5. Written report. Within 2 weeks of the feedback meeting, I aim to finalize the written assessment report and share it with you. The report has all of the important findings we discussed in the feedback meeting, as well as background information, full test scores, and personalized recommendations.

  6. Follow up. I encourage families to reach out to me with questions they have at any point. With your written permission, I share the report and consult with other professionals working with you or your child (i.e., doctors, therapists, teachers).

Questions? Check out the FAQs.

See what other professionals are saying

“By the way, your report on E. was outstanding!!!! This is the best psychological evaluation I have seen and I loved some of your recommendations.”

-E.’s Pediatrician

“I thought it was an excellent report! I really liked how you organized findings around a series of questions. You also have a gift for communicating findings in a non-jargon way that teens and families can make sense of. Most of us fall into psychology-speak pretty rapidly! I know this report will be helpful to him and his parents over time. Thanks for your good work!”

-S.’s Therapist

Get started with Dr. Scearce today.