Forensic psychology is a specialty area of psychology that gives psychological expertise to the criminal and civil justice systems and those that come into contact with the law. Forensic psychology is a comparatively young field of psychology that has grown significantly during the last 20 years. Popular television shows like “Criminal Minds” have sparked interest in forensic psychology, but they aren’t an accurate representation of the sphere or the individuals who work in it.
Forensic psychologists often provide clinical evaluations for people involved with the legal system. Examples of forensic psychology include:
- Threat assessments for schools
- Child Custody Assessment
- Competency assessments of elderly or criminal defendants
- Counseling services for victims of crime
- Verification of Law Enforcement Applicants
- Establishing procedures for obituaries
- Assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder
- Directing intervention and treatment programs for juvenile or adult offenders
Forensic psychologists also often should testify in court as experts. As a part of the assessment of individuals working within the legal system, forensic psychologists must prepare reports. These forensic psychology reports are formal working documents that follow specific guidelines and are intended to speak a forensic psychologist's findings to a legal audience reasonably than to other psychologists.
One of crucial functions of a forensic psychological report is to find out criminal responsibility and competency to face trial. The first a part of such a report accommodates information concerning the person being evaluated and the context and purpose of the evaluation. It also indicates that the person being assessed has been advised that a report has been prepared and an announcement may be made based on their assessment.
The second section of the forensic report accommodates data and a history of the person under investigation. This may include their medical history, family history, childhood, education and mental health.
Finally, the third section of the report deals with the discussion and conclusion. In this section, the forensic psychologist explains his assessment of the person's mental capability in addition to his recommendations regarding criminal responsibility, competency to face trial and the necessity for treatment.
Forensic psychology is used explicitly for psycho-legal issues, meaning that each psychologist uses their specialist psychological knowledge to unravel legal issues. Psychologists who aren’t trained as forensic psychologists are still considered practicing forensic psychology in the event that they provide their services in civil or criminal cases.
One of crucial applications of forensic psychology is determining whether someone who committed against the law is “guilty” or knew what they were doing was incorrect on the time. There isn’t any psychological definition of insanity, only a legal one. Each state has its own definition of insanity, and there may be also a federal one. In general, the person must know that what they did was incorrect.
To resolve whether an individual knew they were committing against the law, a forensic psychologist must determine what the person was pondering on the time of committing the crime, and never necessarily what they were pondering on the time of the examination. Forensic psychologists may have to depend on other people's information or previous written communications to make this decision.
The American Psychological Association (APA) has guidelines that cover all facets of a psychologist's duties and standards when working in forensic psychology. The APA developed these guidelines because forensic psychology differs significantly from other, more traditional areas of psychology.
Forensic psychologists often evaluate individuals who aren’t there of their very own free will, in order that they will need to have additional knowledge of the legal system and the rights of the people they evaluate or treat. The nature of the legal system is adversarial, so forensic psychologists must remain fair and neutral of their evaluations.
There is plenty of overlap between forensic psychology and criminal psychology, but there are also some necessary differences. Criminal psychologists work to grasp criminals' motives by studying criminal behavior and diagnosing underlying mental illnesses. Forensic psychologists work with a broader range of individuals involved within the legal system, including victims, witnesses, attorneys, law enforcement, and people handling civil cases.
Criminal psychologists can also work with law enforcement agencies to develop a profile that aids within the apprehension of criminals and provides insight right into a criminal's behavior on the crime scene and in court. But unlike popular television shows, criminal psychologists don’t participate in police interrogations of suspects.
The biggest difference between criminal psychologists and forensic psychologists is that a criminal psychologist's work focuses on criminals, while a forensic psychologist's work can involve many various people involved in legal cases.
Any psychologist is taken into account a forensic psychologist in the event that they use their psychological expertise within the legal field. This signifies that you do not want to have a forensic psychologist certification to work on this field. However, if you need to concentrate on forensic psychology, you’ll be able to pursue a profession as a board-certified forensic psychologist.
There are master's degrees in forensic psychology, but to turn out to be a board-certified forensic psychologist you have to have the next experience and qualifications:
- A Ph.D. or Psy.D. Completion of a doctoral program accredited by the APA or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA).
- Two years of organized, supervised, sequential skilled experience, including one 12 months of APA or CPA accredited doctoral internship
- Pass an oral or written exam, depending on the necessities of the state during which you want to practice