Personality assessment · Carlsbad · Vista
Personality Assessment in San Diego
Questionnaires only tell us what you can already see in yourself. The Rorschach and a clinical interview show us the rest. Anchored by the Rorschach and read by a national expert, for the diagnosis that has never quite fit. In person in Carlsbad and Vista.
4.9 on Google · Doctoral-level psychologists · Serving North County since 2018
Who we test
Ages 5+
Teens & adults
Where
2 offices
Carlsbad & Vista
Wait to start
1–2 weeks
From booking to first session
Timeline
6–8 weeks
Intake to written report
Start with
A free call
15 minutes, no pressure
What a personality assessment is
For when the diagnosis has never quite fit.
A personality assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of how a person thinks, feels, relates to others, and responds to stress. A doctoral-level psychologist combines a structured clinical interview with validated self-report measures and, in our practice, the Rorschach, then produces a written report with diagnostic conclusions, treatment recommendations, and a clear description of the patterns that shape day-to-day life.
We are a relational, attachment-informed practice, so our evaluators are clinicians first. Specifically, a full assessment can answer what a screener cannot:
- Is what I am experiencing personality, mood, trauma, or some combination?
- Is this a personality disorder, or a long-term coping response to something specific?
- Why does therapy keep stalling for me?
- What is the structural picture underneath my anxiety, depression, or ADHD diagnosis?
- Could this be a bipolar pattern, a thought-process issue, or something that has been mislabeled?
- What kind of treatment will actually fit me as a person?
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Anchored by the Rorschach.
Self-report measures can only tell us what you already see in yourself. The Rorschach is performance-based: it shows how your mind organizes ambiguous information in real time, the closest psychology gets to looking under the hood. Paired with self-report, it gives us two views of the same person.
02
Every case read twice.
Rorschach training is unevenly distributed, so we do not interpret these reports alone. Every case is reviewed in consultation with Dr. Elizabeth Laney, a nationally recognized expert in personality and Rorschach interpretation, before the report is finalized.
03
Honest about what the data supports.
The report says what it can support and stops where the data stops. That includes telling you when the data does not support a diagnosis, which is just as important as when it does.
Who this is for
For the person who suspects the label is wrong.
If your gut says a checklist will not catch it, you are probably right. A comprehensive personality assessment is built for:
- You have a history of unclear or conflicting diagnoses (anxiety, depression, ADHD, BPD, bipolar, trauma, autism) and want clinical clarity.
- You suspect something deeper is shaping your relationships, work patterns, or emotional life, and you want a real answer.
- You are stuck in therapy and something keeps not being seen by the work.
- You are a high-functioning adult whose self-report does not capture what is actually going on inside.
- You are preparing for a psychiatric, surgical, fertility, or fitness-for-duty evaluation and want a real workup, not a screening.
- You did personality testing once and walked away thinking "that was not me".
Most of our personality referrals come from other clinicians and clinics, because the hardest diagnostic questions are the ones a single self-report measure was never going to settle.
Read by a national expert
Every case is read twice.
Doctoral training in personality assessment is unevenly distributed, and Rorschach training especially so. Our solution is that we do not interpret these reports alone. Every personality assessment is anonymously reviewed in consultation with Dr. Elizabeth Laney, a nationally recognized expert in personality assessment and Rorschach interpretation, before the report is finalized. What that buys you, practically:
- Multiple psychologists looking at your data, not one.
- A national specialist's eye on the part of the battery most clinicians find hardest to interpret.
- A written report that says what it can support and stops where the data stops.
- Diagnostic clarity that holds up to a second opinion, before the second opinion gets asked for.
What it costs
We post the price so you do not have to ask.
A comprehensive personality assessment costs $3,000 to $5,000. The fee includes the free consultation, the clinical interview, all testing and scoring (including the Rorschach), expert consultation review, the written report, and the feedback session.
Looking for something more focused than a full battery? Insight Sessions are a 3-session MMPI-2 feedback process at $840, for clarity about patterns in mood, personality, and coping. We confirm the exact figure for your case on the free call, before any work begins.
- Personality assessment Clinical interview, self-report measures (MMPI-2, MCMI-IV, PAI), and the Rorschach (R-PAS), with expert consultation review.
- $3,000 – $5,000
- Insight Sessions A focused 3-session MMPI-2 feedback process for clarity about patterns in mood, personality, and coping.
- $840
Out-of-network · Superbill provided · HSA / FSA accepted
Comprehensive psychological testing is frequently eligible for partial out-of-network reimbursement. We provide a superbill for CPT codes 96136, 96137, 96130, and 96131; coverage varies by plan, so confirm your out-of-network testing benefits before scheduling.
How it works
What the process actually looks like.
Typically four to six hours of in-person testing across two or three sessions, plus the intake and feedback meetings. Nothing surprises you: we tell you what each session is for before you book it.
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The free 15-minute call.
You tell us what you are trying to figure out. We tell you whether a personality assessment is the right tool, what it would involve, and what it would cost. No sales energy.
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Clinical interview.
A conversation covering developmental, relational, occupational, medical, and psychiatric history, so the testing is read against a real life, not a blank slate.
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Self-report personality measures.
Well-validated measures such as the MMPI-2, MCMI-IV, or PAI, selected for your referral question. These are the foundation of a good battery and describe how you see yourself.
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The Rorschach (R-PAS).
The Rorschach Performance Assessment System, administered, coded, and interpreted by trained clinicians, plus a differential that separates personality patterns from mood, trauma, ADHD, and autism.
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Expert consultation review.
Every case is anonymously presented to Dr. Elizabeth Laney and our full testing team before the report is finalized. Multiple doctoral-level clinicians look at your data, not one.
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Feedback session and written report.
A real conversation about what we found, then an integrated written report suitable for treatment planning, accommodations, second opinions, or documentation.
The testing team
Six psychologists and a postdoctoral fellow who do personality assessment.
Every assessment is conducted, scored, and written by the same doctoral-level clinician, with consultation review from a national expert before the report goes out. No interns, no handoff to a writer.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions.
The questions below come up almost every week. If yours is not here, the 15-minute call is the place for it.
01 What is a personality assessment?
A personality assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of how a person thinks, feels, relates to others, and responds to stress, conducted through a structured clinical interview combined with validated self-report measures and (in our practice) the Rorschach. It produces a written report with diagnostic conclusions, treatment recommendations, and a clear description of the patterns that shape day-to-day life.
02 What is the Rorschach test and how is it used?
The Rorschach is a performance-based personality measure. Rather than asking you to describe yourself, it presents a set of standardized inkblots and asks what you see, then codes your responses using a research-validated system (we use the Rorschach Performance Assessment System, R-PAS). The data tells us about thought process, emotional regulation, reality testing, self-perception, interpersonal patterns, and stress response. It's most useful when paired with self-report so we can compare two views of the same person.
03 Why do you include the Rorschach when most clinics don't?
Because it answers questions self-report cannot answer. Self-report measures only see what you can see in yourself. The Rorschach sees how your mind actually works under conditions of ambiguity, which is what most personality questions are really asking about. Most clinics skip it because it takes 10 to 15 hours of clinician time per case. We include it because skipping it means skipping the data most clients are actually paying for.
04 Who reviews my report before I get it?
Every personality assessment is anonymously reviewed in consultation with Dr. Elizabeth Laney, a nationally recognized expert in personality assessment and Rorschach interpretation, before the report is finalized. Practically, that means multiple doctoral-level clinicians look at your data, not one.
05 How long does a personality assessment take?
Typically four to six hours of testing across one or two appointments, plus a 60-minute intake and a 60-minute feedback session. From intake to written report is usually 6 to 8 weeks.
06 How much does a personality assessment cost in San Diego?
A comprehensive personality assessment costs $3,000 to $5,000. The fee includes the free consultation, the clinical interview, all testing and scoring, the written report, and the feedback session. If a full battery is more than you need, our Insight Sessions are a focused 3-session alternative at $840. We confirm the exact figure for your case on the free call, before any work begins.
07 Do you take insurance?
We are out-of-network with all insurance plans. We provide a superbill you can submit for partial reimbursement under CPT codes 96136, 96137, 96130, and 96131. HSA and FSA accounts are accepted directly. We recommend calling your insurance company before scheduling to confirm what they reimburse for out-of-network psychological testing.
08 What ages do you assess?
We evaluate ages 5 and up. Personality testing for children and adolescents uses age-appropriate measures and weighs parent and school input more heavily.
09 Can a personality assessment tell me if I have a personality disorder?
When that's the clinical question, yes. We can also tell you when the data does not support a personality disorder diagnosis, which is just as important. A real assessment distinguishes long-standing personality patterns from mood, trauma, and adaptive responses to specific situations.
10 Can I do this online?
Some components can be conducted via telehealth, but the Rorschach is administered in person for the data to be valid. Most of our personality assessment work happens at our Carlsbad or Vista offices. We'll discuss the right format for your case at the consultation.
When you are ready
Let's figure out whether a personality assessment is the right fit.
Fifteen minutes on the phone with our Director of Psychological Testing, Dr. Chelsea Dudley. No pitch, no pressure. By the end of the call you will know whether a personality assessment is the right answer, what it would cost, and whether we are the right people for it.
4.9 on Google · Out-of-network · Superbill provided · Serving North County since 2018