Therapy Services

Our experienced clinicians use evidence based approaches to provide a variety of mental health counseling and therapy services to children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. We treat clinical, behavioral, substance use, dual diagnosis, and personality issues and we strive to provide support through life’s most difficult times.

We have providers who use cognitive behavioral therapies, internal family systems approaches, solution-focused strategies, and interpersonal methods. We treat common mental health issues like anxiety disorders, depression and mood conditions, post-traumatic stress, obsessive compulsive tendencies, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficits and hyperactivity, behavioral concerns, and adjustment issues.

Additionally, we understand life events and transitions can be challenging, and some may need help to process grief, loss and bereavement, divorce and relationship conflicts, childhood emotional neglect, unhealthy attachments, traumatic or overwhelming events, work or school-related issues, financial strain, matters of gender or sexuality, fertility challenges, identity consternation, unexpected changes, or simply the stress of daily living.

Our clinicians use techniques like:

• teaching coping and problem solving skills,
• social skills & emotion regulation training,
• mindfulness,
• dialectical behavior therapy (DBT),
• acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT),
• motivational interviewing (MI),
• exposure therapy,
• cognitive processing therapy, and
• eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

to help each client embrace the best version of themselves.

Clinical Evaluation Services

Psychological assessment is an integrative process which involves clinical interviewing, psychological testing with empirically supported, objective measures, and the collection of information from collateral sources, as applicable.

Psychological evaluations can be helpful in making or clarifying diagnosis, better understanding thinking and behavior, gaining insight into interpersonal, social, vocational or occupational strengths and difficulties, and identifying potential causes for lack of progress in treatment. While the idea of participating in a psychological evaluation may be intimidating, the intent is for the evaluation results to be helpful and guide treatment, much like having an X-ray or blood test could help a physician make treatment decisions.

The Psychologists at Mountaineer Psychological Services specialize in evaluation services to assist with identifying clinical and personality issues, substance use concerns, and related biopsychosocial variables which may be impacting functioning.

We offer diagnostic clarification and relevant treatment recommendations. We accept self-referred evaluation clients as well as those referred by other providers, agencies, and the justice system (see forensic evaluation services).

Among the types of clinical evaluations we offer are: state of the art ADHD and ASD assessment, medical screening and pre-operative evaluations, general diagnostic evaluation, assessment for academic and vocational accommodation, and the analysis of specific treatment needs.

Forensic Evaluation Services

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines forensic psychology as the application of clinical psychology to the legal arena (encompasses legal institutions and the people who come in contact with the law). Forensic evaluation services at Mountaineer Psychological Services include a variety of justice-involved referrals for adults and adolescents.

Types of evaluations include:

• competency to stand trial/ proceed and criminal responsibility,
• competency to testify (adults and children),
• diminished capacity/ mitigation (pre-sentencing assessments),
• violence/ dangerousness risk assessment,
• psychosexual evaluations (sex offender risk assessment and placement needs),
• parental fitness/ child abuse and neglect cases,
• surrogacy and adoption screening,
• fitness for duty & pre-employment assessment (to include law enforcement),
• veteran compensation & pension exams,
• substance abuse assessment,
• malingering assessment, and
• personal injury/ civil litigation.

We accept court-ordered and attorney- or agency-referred cases, typically on a contractual basis. Our psychologists have years of experience with forensic evaluation, expert witness testimony, and attorney consultation and see evaluees both in-office and in correctional settings.

Consultation with attorneys and other forensic professionals is also available.