Forensic psychology is a specialty in professional psychology characterized by activities primarily intended to provide professional psychological expertise within the judicial and legal systems.
Advanced Scientific and Theoretical Knowledge Germane to the Specialty
The distinctiveness of forensic psychology is its advanced knowledge and skills reflecting the intersection of legal theory, procedures and law with clinical issues, practice and ethics.
Parameters to Define Professional Practice in Psychoanalysis in Psychology
Populations
The clinical-forensic population is composed broadly of individuals who may present with a psychiatric diagnosis or may have other characteristics that are relevant to a clinical-legal decision and who are involved with the judicial system. That is, each individual has an identifiable clinical status (broadly considered) and legal status. Individuals can be broadly categorized into two subpopulations:
Civil: those involved in civil litigation (e.g., plaintiffs in personal injury suits, persons subject to civil commitment, parties to child custody cases, litigants in workers’ compensation suits, individuals seeking or contesting the need for guardianship, individuals being assessed for disability).
Criminal: those involved in criminal and delinquency proceedings (e.g., defendants raising issues such as competency to stand trial, insanity, diminished capacity, sentencing considerations or juvenile waiver, defendants adjudicated as incompetent to stand trial and in need of treatment to help restore competence, defendants acquitted by reason of insanity and in need of treatment to help progress through secure hospitalization and reintegrate safely into the community).
The legal population services are provided to include:
- Attorneys (civil and criminal)
- Courts (federal, state, district, and county; trial and appellate; presiding over probate, family, juvenile, constitutional, civil and criminal matters)
- Insurers
- Employers
Problems
Problems presented by the clinical-forensic population span the entire clinical spectrum within a legal context that may result in civil and criminal legal questions that courts must ultimately decide.
Procedures
The description and measurement of capacities relevant to legal questions is an important goal in forensic psychology. As a result, the forensic specialist attempts to create relevant, accurate and credible data and conclusions that inform legal arguments and judicial decision-making, but do not intrude upon it. In addition, there is a special focus on the need to clarify conflicts between psychological ethical standards and the demands of law. The synthesis of psychological and legal issues distinguishes forensic populations from other specialties.