It is about the use of interviews and tests and questionnaires, in order to evaluate and quantify the cognitive (strengths and weaknesses), character and motivational (interests) traits. The psychodiagnostic deepening can be used to:

Psychodiagnostics is the discipline that deals with psychological assessment and diagnosis, personology and psychopathology, through the use of an integrated repertoire of questionnaires, personality inventories, batteries and test techniques (psychometric and projective), clinical interviews, neuropsychological examinations and observational evaluations; the type of techniques and tools used vary from time to time, based on the context and purpose of the assessment, age and type of possible difficulties of the assessed subjects.

Even if all the psychologists (in particular, but not only, the clinical ones) have a basic technical training and the relative authorization of Law (L. 56 / 89) for carrying out the psychodiagnostic activity, the complexity and technical articulation of some of its applicative sub-sectors and / or of various psychodiagnostic techniques, at times, suggests the attainment of further post-graduate specialist training in the specific areas of interest (eg, in neuropsychological, psychotherapeutic, legal, for the use specific projective tests, etc.).

The psychodiagnostic evaluation allows to obtain information on the nature, the entity, and eventually the causes of the presented problem. This process basically uses two methodological tools:

Through the psychological interview, the experiences, history and problems of the person are welcomed and explored, with the aim of identifying, within his personal history, the intrapsychic, relational, family and biological factors that may have contributed to the onset of disturbance or complaints of suffering.

Psychological diagnosis is not limited to the recognition and classification of symptoms or the classification of a disease (as in the medical field) but, taking into account the complexity and uniqueness of each individual, it is proposed to arrive at a psychological understanding that it necessarily passes through the emotional and cognitive sharing of profound aspects of oneself.

The use of the psychological tests completes and integrates the information collected during the interviews, allows the evaluation of specific functions or characteristics of personality and allows to have, in a relatively short time, a confirmation or disconfirmation of the clinical observations.

The diagnostic process is also structured according to its purpose.

Within a clinical context the diagnosis acts as a guide and pragmatic criterion on the feasibility of treatment and is configured as a proposal for a therapeutic project: deepening the knowledge related to personal, relational and contextual characteristics, the patient is placed in the condition of autonomously make decisions and make choices that facilitate the realization of their needs and aspirations.

The diagnosis is not a "label" that is affixed to the patient, but a dynamic description of a mode of operation, always subject to change over time.

The psychodiagnostic evaluation allows a global assessment of the functioning of a person and can also be requested in the forensic field to ascertain the psychic conditions within legal, civil and criminal procedures.