The psychological assessment is comprised of two sections: the clinical interview and the psychological test. The surrogate candidate will complete a standardized personality test, MMPI-2, and will meet with an agency psychologist. The psychological assessment is designed to protect the best interests of the inquiring surrogate by gauging how well she will handle the surrogacy journey.
Most women do not experience any difficulty throughout the psychological assessment. Provided that a candidate has been honest with her application and meets the qualifying criteria, there should not be any concerning issues. If something potentially problematic is discovered that might prevent the agency from continuing with a candidate, she must be assured that the decision is in her best interest as well as that of the agency and its clients.
Clinical Interview
The prospective surrogate will need to meet with an agency psychologist to answer several questions about her background. General topics of discussion include medical, educational, psychiatric, and social history. The surrogate’s significant other may also be interviewed by the psychologist during this meeting and will be asked comparable questions.
During the clinical interview, the psychologist will also discuss certain sensitive issues that can arise during the surrogacy journey. The psychologist might ask how the prospective surrogate feels about multiple embryo transfers, selective reduction or terminating a pregnancy due to complications or significant health issues for the child. These topics can either prepare the surrogate for issues she had not considered or potentially cause her to terminate her journey. Either outcome will support the best interest of the surrogate.
MMPI-2
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) is a research based standardized test consisting of 567 true/false questions. The MMPI-2 covers ten clinical subscales that assess abnormal human behavior, including depression, hysteria, paranoia, hypochondriasis, psychopathic deviate, masculinity/femininity, psych asthenia, schizophrenia, hypomania, and social introversion. The test consists of four validity scales and is widely accepted and used by psychologists.
While an MMPI-2 test may only be administered by a psychologist, it is equally as convenient to arrange as the clinical interview.
After the psychological assessment is complete, the psychologist will review the results and generate a report. Once approved, the prospective surrogate will be that much closer to beginning her journey. At this point, she will just need to acquire medical clearance before moving on to the matching stage with her IPs.
