Forensic psychology combines the clinical practice of psychology and the law. Forensic psychological assessments are done to assist the court in investigating certain mental health aspects within the legal context. The main emphasis is on addressing the provided legal question to assist the court in making appropriate decisions based on empirically-based research, actuarial instruments, and psychological tests that are objective instead of subjective in nature.
As opposed to traditional psychological assessments where the client is usually the person being evaluated, in forensic psychological assessments, the client is often the retaining party and that could be a court, attorney, or an agency. During the entire process of forensic psychological evaluation, the role of psychologists is to remain objective and inform the legal system with expert knowledge of the mental health and behavior of the person in question.
What does forensic psychological assessment include?
During forensic psychological assessments, a forensic psychologist use:
- Comprehensive clinical interview
- A thorough review of records
- Case law
- Collateral data
- Psychological tests
Once the evaluation is done, it can be utilized by the court to address legal issues, such as:
- Competency to stand trial
- Criminal responsibility
- Transfer to adult court
- Determining insanity, the risk for violence, and sexual dangerousness
Both adult and juvenile offenders may need forensic psychological assessment for a variety of reasons. When these evaluations are requested by the attorney, court, or an agency, forensic psychologists carry out the evaluation in civil or criminal court cases and also in correctional and law enforcement settings.
Some of the forensic psychological evaluations may also be required in private offices or state hospitals.
Other psychological evaluations that you can categorize as forensic may include but are not limited to:
- Evaluation of personal injury
- Fitness for duty
- Disability
- Parental fitness
- Competency to testify
The job of a forensic psychologist is not only to evaluate the mental health and behavior of a person in question but also to identify the possibility of re-offending and recommend proper treatment pathways to minimize the risk of future offending.
When a forensic psychological assessment is needed for civil law cases, psychologists are required to assist with family law matters. During these types of cases, they might be asked to evaluate the divorcing parties and their children to assist the court in identifying issues related to custody, care and control, and access.
These assessments can help in identifying the suitability for parenting while gaining custody, guardianship, or adoption. This kind of assistance can provide insights into an individual’s parenting skills and psychological profile of areas that still need to be explored through ongoing intervention and assessment.
So, if you need forensic psychological assessments for:
- Medico-legal assessments
- Psychometric testing for IQ, Autism, ADHD, Personality Disorder, Mood Disorder, Psychotic Disorder, etc.
- Child custody and guardianship
- Parenting capacity and adoption evaluation
- Risk evaluation for general, violent, and sexual offending
- Psychological treatment for trauma and other clinical disorders that resulted in offending
- Co-parenting and parental alienation treatment
- Traditional talk and art psychotherapy for children facing or suspected to be facing emotional or behavioral difficulties due to divorce
- Or any other reason
Then, get in touch with experienced forensic psychologists at Psych Connect today.
