Services

KAIROS Psychology Group generally offers three types of assessments

  • Clinical assessment for individuals experiencing significant distress, whether from personal problems or some difficulty in ministry or relationships.  The objective is to clarify the nature and scope of problems, identify contributing factors, set specific goals, and determine realistic expectations. The assessment includes a DSM-5/ICD-10 diagnosis, and offers specific treatment recommendations.
  • Candidate/vocational assessment is intended for persons considering entry into priesthood, religious life, or pastoral ministry at a leadership level. Typically requested by the diocese, religious community, or church governing body, this assessment serves to underscore aspects of mature development and provide confidential feedback for the individual and the diocese or community they hope to join.
  • Clergy/religious fitness-for-duty assessment is intended for individuals who may be requesting incardination into a diocese, or who may be seeking a transfer into a new/different religious community.

Regardless of what type of assessment is chosen, each assessment is conducted as a multidisciplinary, comprehensive evaluation, which usually spans a three-day time period. The person who is being assessed has face-to-face interviews with four professional staff members:

  • the psychiatrist conducts a psychiatric interview, including past mental health history, a mental status exam, and, if applicable, a medication review;
  • the nurse conducts a health status interview, including past physical health history, takes and records your vital signs, and reviews relevant lab work;
  • the spiritual director conducts a spirituality assessment and ascertains details about the person’s spiritual journey, including moments of crisis, image of God, faith as a resiliency factor, and status of past and current prayer life;
  • the psychologist, who leads the assessment, gives the initial orientation to the process, conducts a detailed diagnostic interview, performs psychological testing, collects and evaluates collateral information, and reviews and interprets the various personality measures. The psychologist leads the other team members in a collaborative process, in which all team member’s impressions and reports are integrated; he conducts the feedback sessions toward the end of the assessment process and writes the integrative assessment report.

Assessment Process [Adaptations currently in place to comply with COVID-19, related guidelines]:

  • The person who is being assessed usually arrives on late Sunday afternoon, is picked up from the airport/train station, and is transported to the pre-arranged local hotel, or alternative accommodation. Sunday evening, Dr. Kappler or another designated team member will meet with the person briefly to give an overview/orientation and to clarify the limits of confidentiality and obtain informed consent.
  • Before arrival, the person who is being assessed will be asked to arrange with their physician for laboratory tests, which can help rule out subtle physical causes of psychological problems (a list of the requested lab-work will be provided).
  • At some time, over the course of Monday and Tuesday, the person who is being assessed will meet with the psychiatrist, the psychologist, the nurse, and the spiritual director, for each of the interviews described above.
  • Psychological tests (self-report and face-to-face) will provide additional information about personality dynamics to supplement interview and self-report data.
  • Once information has been gathered, on Wednesday morning, the Assessment Team assembles to analyze and integrate findings and makes appropriate recommendations.
  • By Wednesday around noontime, as the assessment process comes to an end, there will be two separate sessions to discuss evaluation results. One of these will be a private session with the psychologist, followed by a meeting with the psychologist and the referring individual from the person’s diocese, religious community, or church governing body (second feedback session may be in person or via Skype/Conference Call).
  • By 2:00 pm on Wednesday, the on-site assessment process ends and the person assessed will be transported back to the airport/train station. KAIROS Psychology Group’s staff will assist with referrals, and/or other needs that may arise.
  • Within a month, a comprehensive written report is sent to the individual and to whomever the person assessed may designate.  Absolutely no information is released to anyone without the specific written consent of the individual assessed.

Travel / Accommodations

  • For persons who will be traveling to Oakland for an assessment, during the three night stay from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday, there will be various options for accommodations:
  • Local Hotels (in walking distance to KAIROS offices):
  • Waterfront Hotel:

10 Washington Street, Oakland, CA 94607

510-379-5293

www.waterfronthoteloakland.com

  • The Inn at Jack London Square:

233 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94607 United States; 510-452-4565

www.innatthesquare.com

  • The Lenox House:

A spiritual community, managed by the Oblate Community, accommodating both men and women.

House Superior: Don Arel, OMI

290 Lenox Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610

510-289-5443

[email protected]

  • At the time of booking the assessment, KAIROS Psychology Group’s staff will assist in making the accommodations of your choice.
  • KAIROS Psychology Group is located centrally in Oakland, close to beautiful Jack London Square, at the Oakland Estuary/Waterfront.
  • Those arriving by plane, will ordinarily arrive at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) or Oakland Airport (OAK), where they will be picked up by a car service.
  • Those arriving by train, the office is located one block from the Oakland/Jack London Square Amtrak station.

Individual Psychotherapy

Dr. Kappler and Dr. Healey in their his function as KAIROS Psychology Group’s clinical psychologists, offers individual psychotherapy on an outpatient basis. Their approaches to therapy can be described as integrative, as treatment will be tailored to meet each client’s individual needs. In general, they apply a psychodynamic, relational model of therapy, and utilize techniques from cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused therapy, as well as addiction counseling, as needed.

Treatment follows a time-limited therapy model, but can also be long-term, depending on the individual’s presenting issues. No matter what treatment model is used, there is always a clear set of treatment goals that are established collaboratively with the client.

Research has consistently shown that a solid therapeutic relationship between the client and the therapist forms the single most important factor related to a successful therapy outcome. At KAIROS Psychology Group, a sense of welcome, safety, respect, patience, a non-judgmental stance, and unconditional positive regard are essential building blocks for establishing such a trusting relationship.

Education & Consultation

  • Through our relationship with the Southdown Institute, KAIROS Psychology Group has access to Southdown’s experienced professional staff who are available across Canada, the U.S., and internationally for consultations as well as facilitation, training, presentations, workshops and team building activities.

Southdown’s expert clinicians are available to present at conferences, leadership gatherings, retreats, small and large group gatherings. For more information please call Southdown directly at (905) 727 4214 or contact the team at KAIROS Psychology Group at (510) 986-0386.

Southdown’s newsletter Covenant has a readership of 5,300 and it continues to be a highly regarded source of information on the many areas of expertise shared by Southdown’s clinical staff.  Its purpose is to inform and educate the readership about clinical issues that surface in our work and to invite integration of the emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.

To subscribe to the Covenant newsletter, please go onto the Southdown website and fill in the “Subscribe To Our Newsletter” form in the sidebar.

Web Page: http://southdown.on.ca

  • Dr. Kappler is available to present at workshops and conferences to address a variety of psychological topics, including but not limited to the following: Importance of Sexual Identity Formation, Sexual Identity and Psychological Well-Being, Emotion Regulation and Emotional Intelligence, Sexual Addiction & Recovery, Personality Disorders, Being Alert to the Warning Signs of Depression, Anxiety, and Addiction.
  • Dr. Kappler is also available to consult with formation directors, clergy personnel directors, and vicars for clergy and religious, as well as other leadership representatives to assist with “difficult personalities,” conflict resolution, on-site visits and interventions, other psychological aspects of human resource management, and to help with locating appropriate referrals.