Where the mental health evaluation fits
A life-care plan organizes current and future care needs and associated costs for a person with a catastrophic injury or chronic healthcare needs. It is a document that can change as the person’s situation changes. The field’s Standards of Practice for Life Care Planners describes this broader planning process.
A psychological or psychiatric evaluation may supply part of that foundation. It is not one universal examination or a single government form. Clarify whether the assignment is an evaluation of mental health needs, a specialist opinion for another planner, or development of a plan within the professional’s qualifications.
What the clinical contribution covers
Psychiatric contributions can address the nature and extent of illness, prognosis, treatment needs, and the anticipated benefit of proposed treatment. Long-term predictions require care because both illness and treatment can change. Missner and Cohen discuss these issues in The Impact of the Psychiatrist on the Life Care Plan.
The American Academy of Physician Life Care Planners describes a process involving relevant records, interviews and examination when practicable, and opinions within the planner’s expertise. Collaboration with other disciplines may be needed. See its Standards of Practice.
For a psychologist or psychiatrist contributing to a plan, the useful starting point is a precise scope: which clinical questions you are answering, which records support the opinion, and which questions belong to another specialist.
Organize the history before projecting forward
Use an evidence index to keep the current clinical foundation separate from future recommendations:
This is a preparation framework. The evaluator determines what is relevant to the individual assignment.
Make each recommendation traceable
For working notes, give each proposed service its own entry. Keep together the recommending clinician, source date, clinical rationale, proposed frequency and duration, and any unanswered questions.
Separate a past service from a current recommendation. A therapy schedule documented several years ago should not silently become the proposed future schedule. Likewise, a recommendation quoted in another report should lead you back to its original author where available.
If cost information is part of the assignment, keep its source and date alongside it. Record any assumptions about location, frequency, and duration explicitly, so a reviewer can distinguish clinical recommendations from the inputs used to estimate costs.
Where PsyReview fits
PsyReview helps organize the medical record portion of preparation: the chronology, treatment history, and source passages that need inspection. Use that review to prepare for the evaluation or for discussion with the life-care planner.
PsyReview does not produce a validated life-care plan, predict future treatment needs, or establish service costs. Clinical recommendations and planning assumptions require the responsible professionals’ judgment. Check generated content against the source records before using it.
Sources and scope
- International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals: Standards of Practice for Life Care Planners.
- American Academy of Physician Life Care Planners: Standards of Practice.
- Missner and Cohen: The Impact of the Psychiatrist on the Life Care Plan, 2019.
Sources checked November 4, 2026. This editorial guide covers record preparation for a mental health contribution to a broader plan; it does not confer a life-care planning qualification.