Dr. Alfred Hughes is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and has been in private
practice in Athens, Georgia for over 20 years. Over those 20 years he has provided play-therapy for children and psychotherapy for adolescents and adults. He was an adjunct undergraduate professor at Argosy University, is frequently referred forensic/court cases, and has been qualified as an expert witness in hundreds of criminal and civil court hearings. He also conducted hundreds of psychological assessments on children, adolescents, and adults.
Recently, Dr. Hughes began working a reduced schedule and discontinued offering individual services to focus on evaluations and forensic work. He, and his team of psychometrist, specialize in various evaluation types with individuals between 4 – 55 years old. Dr. Hughes and his team now focuses solely on conducting:
Psychological Evaluations – focuses on assessing the normal versus abnormal nature of a person’s overall functioning. The specific nature of these evaluations varies depending on the issues to be addressed, but they involve at least the following components: a clinical interview, a mental status examination, and multiple psychological tests. These evaluations can be brief with the psychological testing time being about 2 1/2 hours, or they can be long, comprehensive evaluations consisting of lengthy objective and projective measures of personality.
Psychoeducational Evaluations – a psychological evaluation, with additional testing to focus on the intellectual and academic functioning of individuals. These evaluations are generally performed for use in schools and universities and are often done to determine the services a student may need, the type of class in which he or she should be placed, and/or to determine the type of guidance he or she may need in the future.
Psychodevelopmental Evaluations – are often the most limited in scope, focusing only on the overall functioning of very young children, with limited examination into areas that maybe interfering with normative development and functioning. These evaluations are generally performed for use diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder, Global Development Disorder, and possible speech impediments.
Psychosexual Evaluations – a psychological evaluation, with additional testing to focus on the intellectual’s sexual development and sexual behavior/and functioning.
Anger/violence evaluations Evaluation – a psychological evaluation, with additional testing to focus on the intellectual’s level of anger, hostility, and violent behavior. There is a difference in Anger (emotion) and violence (behavior), but sometimes it is hard to differentiate between the two. These evaluations are generally performed for use in courts, probation, and parole.
THE 4 PARTS OF COMPLETING AN EVALUATION
1 – Make Appointment – Call or email my office at (706) 546-8440 or PositiveOutcomesOffice@gmail.com and provider your contact, insurance, payment information, and set-up an Intake Appointment. Staff may briefly ask you for your primary concerns and needs (this allows them to assign clients to the most appropriate provider).
2 – Intake Appointment – an hour meeting in person or virtually to discuss clients presenting problems and gather information to conduct a comprehensive evaluation. Prior to this appointment you should complete and return the Background Questionnaire and New Client Packet (given at intake). Also, the client (even if child) should be present for the intake if possible.
3 – Evaluation Session – Has to occur in my office (485 Huntington Rd., Athens, 30606) with a psychometrist. It takes anywhere from 2 ½ to 7 hours (average 3 hours) to complete the evaluation.
4 – Results – an hour results session that usually occurs virtually (exceptions can be made) and happens between 6 – 8 weeks after the Evaluation Appointment. Dr. Hughes provides the client with the evaluation at least 24 hours via email before the appointment, and during the session shares the evaluation by displaying it on his computer screen. At that point, he explains each section and instrument of the evaluation, explains how any diagnosis was made, and most importantly, provides recommendations and resources for proper future treatment.
Dr. Hughes is originally from Charleston, South Carolina, received his undergraduate degree with Honors & Research Honors in Psychology from Georgia State University, and his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. He completed a full time APA accredited internship in forensic psychology at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC. Dr. Hughes completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Positive Outcomes Psychological Services.
https://doxy.me/dralfredhughes – Dr. Hughes’ virtual office
Note: Email has limitations to the security of the information sent, but we do our best to protect your privacy. To schedule an appointment, it is best to contact my office manager on our main number instead.
Except for the actual testing procedure, Dr. Hughes offers an encrypted, HIPAA compliant TeleHealth (video chat) option for clients who prefer to complete the intake and results sessions in the format. Address above.