​Understanding how the brain learns, processes, and functions is key to unlocking success. Our assessments provide clarity, a clear diagnosis when one applies, and a plan for what comes next. We evaluate toddlers, children, teens, and adults, and we offer both testing and therapy under one roof, so findings can move directly into care.

Every assessment is built around your specific questions. It typically involves four to five sessions: one intake, two to three testing sessions, and one feedback session. Depending on the referral, it includes a clinical interview, review of school or medical records, behavior observations, standardized tests, and rating scales completed by parents, teachers, or partners.

Our Team Approach

The Diagnostic and Counseling Center is an advanced assessment training site. Our doctoral-level students are selected because they already have clinical experience and have chosen to specialize in assessment;
this is not an entry-level placement.

Our assessment team includes licensed psychologists, postdoctoral fellows, registered psychological associates, and doctoral-level students, all working under the direct supervision of Dr. Bahareh Talei (Dr. B), a licensed psychologist with more than two decades of assessment experience and adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology.

What this means for you:

• More eyes on every case. Each assessment is reviewed in team case conference. Test selection, scoring, interpretation, and the final report are checked by more than one clinician, which reduces error and sharpens the diagnosis.
• Closer oversight, not less. Dr. B personally oversees every assessment from intake through feedback. She reviews the data, signs every report, and leads the feedback session.
• Current, evidence-based practice. A training site stays up to date. Our team uses the newest editions of standardized measures and follows current guidelines for autism, ADHD, and learning disorder assessment.
• More time with your family. Because we work as a team under Dr. B's direction, we can spend longer on history, observation, and school and provider coordination than a solo practitioner typically can.
• A path from testing to treatment. Our therapy team is in the same office. When testing points to a next step, we can often begin treatment here without a new intake.