A personality assessment is a specialised psychological assessment used to better understand an adolescent or young person’s emotional functioning, personality patterns, and psychological wellbeing. Personality assessments are most commonly used to clarify complex emotional or behavioural presentations and to support accurate diagnosis, formulation, and intervention planning.
At The Daisy Clinic, personality assessments are not routinely completed and are used only where clinically indicated, with adolescents aged 12-18 years.
Who conducts a personality assessment?
Personality assessments at The Daisy Clinic are conducted only by psychologists with specific training and experience in adolescent mental health and personality assessment.
These assessments require advanced skills in clinical interviewing, psychometric assessment, and interpretation of personality measures within a developmental and contextual framework.
Who are personality assessments for?
Personality assessments may be recommended for adolescents and young people when there are concerns about:
- Emotional regulation and mood difficulties
- Anxiety or internalising symptoms that are complex or longstanding
- Behavioural patterns that are difficult to understand through screening measures alone
- Interpersonal functioning and relationships
- Identity development and emotional coping styles
Personality assessments are typically considered after other assessment pathways (e.g. learning, cognitive, autism, or neurodevelopmental assessments) when additional clinical clarification is required.
What assessments are used?
Personality assessments at The Daisy Clinic typically involve:
- Parent / carer interview
A detailed interview to gather developmental, family, psychosocial, and mental health history, and to understand current concerns and functioning across settings. - Personality assessment measure – PAI-A
The Personality Assessment Inventory – Adolescent (PAI-A) is a standardised self-report measure designed to assess emotional, behavioural, and personality functioning in adolescents.
The PAI-A provides information across areas such as:
- mood and anxiety symptoms
- emotional regulation
- interpersonal style
- stress and coping
- self-concept
Is this a diagnostic assessment?
Personality assessments may support diagnostic clarification and differential diagnosis, particularly where emotional and behavioural presentations are complex. They are used to inform clinical understanding and treatment planning rather than to assign labels in isolation.
What is involved and what does it cost?
Step 1: Parent / Carer Interview
- Duration: 60 minutes
- Cost: $349.49
A structured interview with a parent or carer to gather background information and contextualise assessment findings.
Step 2: Personality Assessment (PAI-A)
- Duration: 1–1.5 hours
- Cost: $465.98
Administration, scoring, and clinical interpretation of the PAI-A.
Step 3: Feedback and Reporting
Feedback and reporting are provided as part of the broader assessment context in which the personality assessment is completed (e.g. neurodevelopmental assessment), or as a standalone assessment where appropriate. Reporting options and costs are discussed with families prior to assessment.
Our clinical approach
Personality assessments are used thoughtfully and sparingly. When indicated, they provide valuable insight into an adolescent’s emotional world, coping strategies, and interpersonal functioning, supporting more targeted and effective intervention.
If you are unsure whether a personality assessment is appropriate, our team can help determine the most suitable assessment pathway.