Should I beware before reading my psychological record?

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Tomorrow I'll pick up a copy of my psychological record. Is there something I should know before I read it? Is it likely there will be stuff written on it that will offend me? I just hope the psychologist didn't write that I come across as a person with below average to average intelligence .

Your psychologist would be aware that you could ask to see your record at any time, so no, there probably won't be anything rude or deliberately insulting written in it. I doubt it would say you have 'below average' intelligence, but if it does, you could always bring it up with your psychiatrist and ask why. Perhaps he/she misunderstood you or you messed up an IQ test one day.

(random fact: you're not allowed see medical records that are older than a certain date (19??) because before that, patients weren't allowed read them- therefore some of the comments (and diagrams) weren't exactly flattering... )

It's a cookbook!

Yes, beware.
When I read mine, there were several things written on it that offended me and some that were completely false such as that I am a satan worshiper. After I read that, I sought after finding a different therapist.

SATANWORSHIPPER???? hmmm he should really meet me and see my avatar edit: even my personal rank is raven

I just read mine. What an experience!

Take the wording with humour. Some interpretations may be off, even if the result is correct.

And remember it's a medical report. It's like being a science student and finding a good description of a test-rat.

Yes its usually very personal and could have things in it that will hurt your feelings. At least you won't have the torture of having the whole report (my eval was 9 pages long) read in front of your Voc counselor in front of you by the neuropsychologist. That hurt me I have to say. Plus I disagree with some of my diagnosis, they found like 6 disorders. If you decide to read it just don't take it too personally.

Wow! How did you guys get a hold of your evals? I tried getting mine before I knew about AS cause I wanted to enlist but they wanted the records, and I couldn't even get them to tranfer it to the head psycholigst or whatever guy for the military base!

I would LOVE to read my records... they are from before I turned 18, and when I think back, I remember very little of my life between 11 and yesterday *joke on yesterday* But I did have a memory pop up a few nights ago... was driving past a place and remembered having to go there as a kid... caint remember what for, but it turns out it was a bloody mental hospital! Why don't I remember these things!

BF had to explain the building, he went there... hes skitzophrenic *prolly spelled wrong*. So I wanna read my records... but nobody has a copy or wants to share.

Don't be offended when it specifically points out that your parents do not have blood ties. When I first read mine, I thought: 'what, do I look inbred or something?'

lol

Does anyone have a sample psychological report you don't mind sharing? I want to know what they read like.

*snikker*

I look inbred... hell my parents look like each other...

It all depends on the competency of the clinicians who made the entries. (anywhere from pure stupidity to insightful)

I belive that HIPPA says that your medical records are yours and you have a right to review and comment.

bookwormde

I'll be getting my record soon too so wish me luck.

In your case the problem with getting access to records is some time as passed since your evaluation and you were a kid when it happened. One time passes it gets harder to get access to any records just because its hard to get a dr office to dig up the records once you've signed a release form.

In my case I got the eval results after the psych scored the tests and it was read to me by the neuropsych in front of my VR counselor. That's just the procedure they follow at VR. If you want your records go to the office that should have them ask to sign a records release form, ask for your eval results and give them some idea of the date it occurred so they can even find the record. By law they are allowed to charge you a reasonable fee to search for and copy the records. Some offices charge while others do not however, depends on their own policy.

I would beware.

"having few friends, he acknowledges a best friend. But his mother indicates that the friend in question does not acknowledge [specter] as his best friend."

some things are best left unsaid. :(

When I was a teenager, I found my childhood psych eval records and read them (in my dad's office). They contained some upsetting comments from my parents and teachers, but it all paled in comparison to what I feared I would find. Here are some examples, paraphrased because I don't recall the exact wording:

Immaturity: very shy, does not initiate conversation with peers, does not make eye contact, does not follow instructions, often engages in unproductive repetitive behavior such as fidgeting and lining up objects, stares into space and seems unaware of surroundings

Autism?: suggested by parents, ruled out due to IQ score and precocious vocabulary

Strong Points: highly creative, has intense interests on which she is an expert (dinosaurs), high test scores

It hurt to read that they thought I was immature because I didn't talk much. Now I realize that what they considered "immaturity" back then would be considered signs of an ASD today. So it kind of makes sense and it doesn't bother me.