Maybe the days blur together and the heaviness settled in so slowly you cannot name when it began. Maybe your child has stopped lighting up at the things they used to love. A Depression Evaluation in Monona, WI gives you honest answers about what is really going on, and you never need a referral to begin.
Each evaluation opens with a baseline measure of cognitive and executive function, then layers in mood and emotional assessments chosen for your situation. One licensed psychologist carries the process from start to finish and screens for the related concerns that so often travel alongside low mood.
In younger children, depression often shows up as irritability rather than obvious sadness. You might notice they have lost interest in play, that sleep or appetite has shifted, or that they voice stomachaches and headaches with no clear cause. Withdrawal and a dip in schoolwork are common too.
For teens, the mood can read as flat or short tempered rather than tearful. Watch for a teenager who pulls back from friends and the activities they once cared about, who seems perpetually tired, or whose grades have quietly slipped. A sense of hopelessness can sit underneath it all.
In adults, it tends to look like a low mood that will not lift, a fading of interest in things that used to matter, and an exhaustion that sleep does not fix. Concentration frays, appetite and rest change, and daily life can feel like going through the motions.
We start with an unhurried, roughly one hour conversation in which your psychologist builds a full history, from early life through your current mood, energy, and how you are managing day to day. This is also where we begin separating depression from the conditions that can look like it, which shapes the assessments we choose.
Next your psychologist assembles a battery of mood and psychological measures suited to you. Expect roughly 2 to 6 hours of in person testing across one to two days, plus self report questionnaires to complete at home; someone close to you may fill out their own if they wish. Signs of anxiety, ADHD, or bipolar patterns are screened as they surface.
Every piece, the test data, clinical observations, and questionnaires, comes together in a detailed diagnostic report. Differential diagnosis sits at its center: your psychologist weighs whether depression, another condition, or a mix best explains what you are experiencing, and documents anything co occurring in full.
Typically two to three weeks later you return for a feedback session. Your psychologist talks you through the findings in plain terms and lays out individualized recommendations, from evidence based therapy options and practical lifestyle strategies to medication guidance where relevant and the next steps that fit your life.
No. A referral is never required to be seen at Core Spring Diagnostics. You are welcome to contact us directly, for any reason that matters to you.
You can expect a clinical interview, a cognitive and executive function baseline, mood and emotional measures, and screening for related concerns like anxiety, trauma, and bipolar patterns, all guided by one psychologist.
Very. A screening only raises a flag. A full evaluation clarifies what is genuinely happening, rules out the look alikes, and hands you recommendations you can act on.
Yes. We work with children, teens, and adults, adjusting the approach to each age and stage.
A report written in plain language and a feedback session that spells out individualized recommendations and a clear path toward support.
Call our Madison office at (608) 396 4830 and we will find a time that works. No referral is needed to book.
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