PTSD is often mistaken for depression, anxiety, or simple stress, which is why so many people carry it for years without a clear name. A Core Spring evaluation tells you whether trauma is driving the symptoms, for children, teens, and adults in Appleton. Getting started takes no referral and no doctor's note.
We examine re-experiencing, avoidance, negative changes in mood and thinking, and heightened arousal, alongside a cognitive and executive-function baseline. One psychologist runs the evaluation and screens for the conditions PTSD is most often confused with, including depression, anxiety, and attention difficulties, so the diagnosis is accurate.
A child might startle easily, have nightmares or night terrors, act younger than their age, or become aggressive or shut down when something reminds them of the event.
A teen might appear angry or oppositional when the real driver is trauma, avoid reminders, feel hopeless about the future, or lose focus and motivation at school.
An adult might have spent years labeled with anxiety or depression while the underlying issue was unprocessed trauma, complete with intrusive memories, avoidance, and a nervous system that never quite stands down.
Your evaluation begins with a one hour clinical interview where your psychologist gathers a thorough history of your emotional experiences, from childhood through your current daily life. This conversation helps identify anxiety patterns, triggers, and how symptoms are affecting your functioning, so the right assessments can be selected.
Based on your clinical interview, your psychologist selects a personalized battery of anxiety and emotional functioning assessments. Testing involves 2 to 6 hours of in person evaluation over one to two days. You will also be sent home with self report questionnaires, and someone close to you can complete their own questionnaire if they choose. If your psychologist identifies signs of other conditions during the process (such as ADHD, depression, or trauma related concerns), those areas are screened for as well.
All testing data, clinical observations, and questionnaire results are compiled into a detailed diagnostic report. Any co occurring conditions identified during the evaluation are fully documented so you leave with a clear, complete understanding of what is driving your symptoms.
Approximately two to three weeks after testing, you return for a feedback session. Your psychologist walks through the diagnosis and provides individualized recommendations: coping strategies for home and work, therapy options (such as CBT or other evidence based approaches), medication guidance if applicable, and next steps tailored to your situation.
No. You can reach out directly, for yourself or your child, with no referral or doctor’s note needed.
PTSD usually follows a single overwhelming event and centers on intrusive memories, avoidance, and heightened arousal. Complex PTSD develops after prolonged or repeated trauma and adds patterns like emotional dysregulation and a negative self-concept. The evaluation is built to tell them apart and to capture whichever one fits your history.
Trauma can disrupt attention, memory, and emotional regulation, and those effects are easy to mistake for ADHD or depression. A cognitive and executive-function baseline measures them directly, so trauma-related difficulties are not misattributed and the diagnosis stays accurate.
Yes. Many people we evaluate are already working with a therapist. The written report gives a clear diagnostic picture and specific recommendations your therapist can use to focus treatment, and it can also support school, workplace, or disability documentation.
Often it does not. PTSD frequently co-occurs with depression, anxiety, and attention difficulties, and trauma can affect cognition. When the picture is broad, the right next step is our comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, which covers everything in one coordinated process.
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