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ARCHIVAL DESCRIPTION
SPECIALTY OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
General description of the specialty:
Forensic psychology is the professional practice by psychologists who foreseeably and regularly provide professional psychological expertise to the judicial system. Such professional practice is generally within the areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, neuropsychology, and school psychology, or other applied areas within psychology involving the delivery of human services, by psychologists who have additional expertise in law and the application of applied psychology to legal proceedings.
What specialized knowledge undergirds the specialty?
Specialized knowledge in forensic psychology is important in three areas. These are as follows: (1) clinical (e.g., diagnosis, treatment, psychological testing, prediction and intervention measurement, epidemiology of mental disorders, ethics), (2) forensic (e.g., response style, forensic ethics, tools and techniques for assessing symptoms and capacities relevant to legal questions) and (3) legal (e.g., knowledge of law and the legal system, knowledge of where and how to obtain relevant legal information).
For what populations are the services of those who practice in this domain particularly useful?
The services of forensic psychologists are particularly useful for individuals with mental or emotional disorders, intellectual deficits, or other relevant characteristics who are also involved with the judicial system. Such involvement may be in civil litigation (e.g., personal injury suits, civil commitment), criminal matters (e.g., sanity at the time of the offense, sentencing), or juvenile and family issues (e.g., juvenile commitment, child custody determination). Forensic psychological services may also be particularly useful when provided to legal populations, including courts and attorneys.
For what problems are the services of those who practice in this domain particularly useful?
Forensic psychologists address problems and questions that arise in the course of legal proceedings, when these problems and questions have both a psychological element and a legal component. Such problems and questions are typically part of larger legal questions to be decided by the courts. The assessment provided by forensic psychologists for such purposes should be relevant, accurate, and credible, yielding conclusions that inform legal arguments and judicial decision-making but do not intrude upon them.
What are the interlinked skills and procedures that form the essential elements of the specialty?
The procedures and techniques of forensic psychology focus on the evaluation
and treatment of clinical disorders and other relevant characteristics in a
legal context, and on providing reports and expert testimony on relevant findings.