Welcome
Dr. Hickson is a licensed psychologist based near the Emory Decatur Hospital, who works with children and adults seeking psychological assessment. She is motivated to assist her clients gain clarity of various mental health, academic, social-emotional, or behavioral concerns to improve their daily functioning.
Adria Hickson, PsyD
Dr. Hickson has ten years of experience in the field of psychology, she is a licensed clinical psychologist who achieved her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Hickson earned her Masters and Specialist degrees of Education in School Psychology from Georgia State University and her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Spelman College. She has worked in integrated healthcare and college counseling centers providing psychotherapy to adults, undergraduate, and graduate students. She has worked in private practice settings completing psychological evaluations of adults and children, relative to academic concerns and diagnosing various psychological disorders. Dr. Hickson is also a certified school psychologist who worked in Georgia public schools K-12 conducting psychoeducational evaluations, consulting with school counselors and school social workers, while working closely with administrators, teachers, and parents to address student needs. In her role as a school psychologist, Dr. Hickson conducted eligibility meetings, student support team meetings, and 504 meetings for students who needed academic support and accommodations. Dr. Hickson enjoys exploring the diverse cultural cuisines in the metro-Atlanta area, volunteering, and spending time with her family and friends.
Services
A psychological evaluation is an assessment of the individual as a whole to fully understand them and their needs accurately. Various assessments are used to identify strengths and weaknesses relative to cognitive and achievement capabilities, possible learning difficulties, attention concerns, social-emotional/behavior characteristics, or adaptive skills in order to cultivate recommendations specific to the individual. Listed below are different types of evaluations and their uses.
Comprehensive Psychoeducational Evaluation
A full psychoeducational evaluation assesses cognitive, achievement, and social-emotional/behavioral factors that may be of impact to functioning. This type of assessment evaluates areas of difficulty related to learning, emotional/behavioral, attention, and other disorders.
Adult Psychological Evaluations
An adult psychological evaluation may include assessing cognitive, achievement, memory, visual motor, visual perception, processing speed, phonological processing and social-emotional/behavioral factors that may be of impact to functioning. This type of assessment evaluates areas of difficulty and can be used for diagnostic clarity and treatment guidance.
Brief Psychoeducational Evaluation
A brief psychoeducational evaluation assesses similar areas as a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation but less in-depth. This type of evaluation can be helpful for individuals who have a previous diagnosis, have met special education eligibility and have an IEP, or 504 accommodations and need an updated evaluation.
Intellectual or Academic Evaluation Only
An intellectual assessment only encompasses comprehensive intelligence testing, and academic assessment alone includes comprehensive achievement testing in all academic areas. These evaluations are helpful in providing clarity about an individual's strengths and weaknesses and can be utilized for treatment focus as well as cultivating specific interventions/ recommendations.
Neurodevelopmental/ Intellectual Disability Evaluation
This evaluation takes into consideration possible delays a child or adult might be experiencing in the areas of cognition, communication, social-emotional, or adaptive development. This evaluation can be helpful in early identification of a child’s strengths and weaknesses to assist with early intervention to address underdeveloped abilities.
Assessment of ADHD Adults and Children
This evaluation only assesses for attention deficits and hyperactivity concerns. Therefore, it may only include intelligence testing, basic achievement, memory, and processing speed screenings, and surveys to be completed for child evaluations by the adults in the child's home and school environments. Similar to other evaluations, findings are helpful for structuring treatment and developing appropriate interventions.
Self Pay Fees & Policy
Services by Dr. Hickson are private pay only and no insurance is taken. However, Dr. Hickson can provide a superbill to submit to insurance companies as needed.
Why is insurance not accepted?
Most insurance companies will not reimburse for academic testing. You have the option to pursue academic testing through your child’s school or to pay an out-of- pocket expense for the administration, scoring, and interpretation of any academic measures. Rates for out-of-pocket testing fees are provided below and are due at the time of the testing appointment.
Appointments & Cancellations
Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. You will be responsible for the entire fee if cancellation is less than 24 hours. The standard meeting time for a diagnostic evaluation is between 4 and 8 hours and it may be beneficial to spread this out over multiple days depending on the age and tolerance of the individual being assessed. Cancellations and re-scheduled session will be subject to a full charge if NOT RECEIVED AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you. If you are more than 45 minutes late, we will need to reschedule the appointment.
Dr. Hickson accepts most major credit cards and personal checks. A $10.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling. If you would like to pay via credit card there is a 3% upcharge of total amount. Psychological testing fees are outlined below.
