Psychological Evaluations
 

Psychological evaluations are special reports prepared by a licensed psychologist with expertise in integrating information gathered from diagnostic interviews, psychological testing, and other sources.

THE TYPES OF EVALUATIONS THAT DR. MASSEY DOES 

Forensic Evaluations

There are many issues covered in forensic psychology or psychology related to legal issues. These areas include child custody cases, personal injury claims, work-related lawsuits, and more. Dr. Renelle Massey has experience in several of these areas, and she specializes in evaluations related to criminal cases. She often evaluates a defendant's competency to stand trial or enter a plea. Another issue she frequently assesses is whether there were any mitigating psychological factors related to a legal case.

Dr. Massey's interest in forensic psychology started in graduate school.  She completed formal course work and sought opportunities to train in forensic psychology. Based on encouragement from a professor, she submitted a paper that was published in the journal Criminal Justice and Behavior. She was first called as a court witness while in graduate school, under the supervision of a professor. She continued to work on legal case evaluations during her internship training. 

While in independent practice, Dr. Massey has testified in cases ranging from child custody, child molestation, competency to stand trial, and more. She has testified in county and state courts, but more often has worked on federal cases. Attorneys have sought her expertise for cases involving Georgia, Florida, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and other states. She has been an expert witness for the prosecution, the defense, and for the court (the judge).

Bariatric Pre-operative Evaluations

Bariatric surgery includes several procedures, such as gastric bypass, to help patients struggling with obesity to lose weight.  Psychological evaluations are usually required prior to bariatric surgery. The purpose of these evaluations is to ensure that the patient's mental health is sufficient for the outcome of the surgery to be as safe and positive as possible.

A bariatric pre-operative evaluation aims to make sure the surgery candidate: 

Most surgery candidates are considered mentally healthy enough for the surgical procedure to be completed. In many cases, special recommendations will be made to assist the patient with developing more coping skills, emotional support, and realistic expectations.