What is Forensic Psychology?

So… what does a forensic psychologist actually do?

The practice of forensic psychology often involves the assessment and treatment of individuals who are involved in the justice, legal, or correctional system in one way or another.

There are two branches: criminal and civil/family.

My work history in criminal forensics is limited to conducting competency to stand trial evaluations.

CRIMINAL COURTS

Forensic psychology, in the criminal arena, means the person has been charged with a crime (ex: vandalism, assault on a family member, or any other illegal act) and needs an evaluation by a mental health evaluator to assist the court in determining the person’s current or prior level of psychological functioning. The Texas Penal Code governs the process. Any member (prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, or judge) of the court may raise questions of sanity, dangerousness, or competency.

The courts and law enforcement may use psychologists to gain an understanding of the motivations of criminals and develop a psychological profile to understand or apprehend them. They examine individual criminal behaviors and diagnose any mental health conditions. They frequently step into the courtroom to provide expert testimony.

Other duties include counseling individuals who have committed crimes or evaluating their risk of recidivism. Other services include evaluating the alleged perpetrator for competency to stand trial or sanity at the time of the act. Examples would be a psychologist conducting a Competency to Stand Trial evaluation or an Insanity evaluation. We’ve all seen television shows where a defendant was found Not Guilty because of Insanity (NGRI).

Insanity evaluations are retrospective in that they are focused on the mental status of the accused at the time of the crime. Important distinction: if a person is considered insane at the time of the act, s/he must also have a competency evaluation to determine whether they are prepared to stand trial at this time.

Sanity evaluations are retrospective assessments. They look at an individual’s ability to distinguish right from wrong. The psychologist will interview the defendant and also examine any other available sources of information (i.e., police reports, criminal history, mental health records, witness statements, medical records, as well as others depending on the specific crime alleged). Mental health treatment is provided for the person who found NGRI with a focus on symptoms that are correlated with a risk of dangerousness. They are confined for a period to receive treatment in a facility where the treatment focuses on vocational rehabilitation, building skills necessary for one to live safely and productively in the community.

Competency evaluations are assessments of the individual at this current time. The focus is whether the defendant understands charges, potential consequences of the criminal trial, and his/her ability to consult with an attorney. Competency evaluations take several hours to complete and may take place in jail settings or in forensic hospitals where a person is receiving mental health treatment.

If found incompetent to stand trial, the defendant is ordered into inpatient care. At a later date, a re-evaluation is done to see if, after treatment, s/he is competent and ready to move forward with the trial court. Once an assessment is complete, the information is compiled into a report and presented to the court for consideration.

A defendant’s experience of mental illness can significantly impact his interactions with the legal system. Forensic mental health evaluators can assist in legal proceedings by helping the parties involved navigate complex issues that may arise surrounding questions of competency and sanity.

CIVIL COURTS/FAMILY COURTS

Family courts request various services from mental health professionals including:

• Parenting Coordination
• Parenting Facilitation
• Guardianship Appointment
• Adoption Evaluations
• Risk Assessment for Dangerousness (i.e., parent to child)
• Fitness for Duty Evaluations (may be ordered by an employer or court-ordered)
• Reunification Therapy
• Neuropsychological Evaluations
• Psychological Evaluations
• Academic Evaluations – I do not provide these
• ADHD Evaluations
• Autism Spectrum Evaluations – I do not provide these
• Court-Ordered Therapy for Child(ren)
• Court-Ordered Therapy for Family
• Court-Ordered Therapy for Co-Parenting
• Court-Ordered Therapy for Individual Adult

This is my area of focus…

FAMILY COURT

In past years, I provided Competency to Stand Trial evaluations for Texas courts. Currently, I work in the field of civil and family forensic services. I no longer provide criminal court services.

Court-Ordered or Family Requested Services

I provide clinical psychological and forensic services in the Greater Houston area, including the following counties: Harris, Ft. Bend, Austin; Montgomery, and other surrounding counties.

In my work with parents and families, I provide the following:

• Individual Therapy for Children
• Individual Therapy for Adults
• Family Therapy
• Co-Parenting Therapy
• Reunification Therapy
• Psychological Evaluations
• Child Custody Evaluations

Sometimes the above are court ordered and sometimes they are negotiated in Mediated Settlement Agreements (known as MSAs) between the parents. In other situations, one or both sides may voluntarily choose to seek the service(s) without a mandate.

The evaluations are tailored to the referral question. For example, a basic psychological evaluation will look at overall functioning; yet, it may have additional measures involved to determine visitation risk, child abuse, dangerousness, parental bullying, or parental alienation.

The majority of my work centers around:

• Psychological Evaluations
• Custody Evaluations
• Reunification Therapy
• Parental Alienation Therapy/Evaluation
• Co-Parenting Therapy
• Best Practices Parenting
• Individual Child Therapy
• Individual Adult Therapy

Depending on the complexity and scope of the case, I often work with clients who are involved with the legal system (courts), the children’s assessment center (CAC), child protective services (CPS), professionals within the legal system (legal advocates, attorneys, and judges), and correctional system (sheriffs, police officers, parole officers, peace officers).

I also conduct evaluations known as fitness-for-duty evaluations or FFDs. These evaluations are requested by third parties or corporations (i.e., oil and gas industry, construction companies, airlines, law enforcement agencies, etc.). More specific information is provided below.

Fitness-for-Duty (FFDs) Evaluations

Fitness-for-Duty Evaluations (FFDs) may be requested by an employer in the private sector or by municipalities. Municipalities may require them of any employee (public service civilians or law enforcement officers, including public service civilians and classified law enforcement agencies, may request FFDs). The question that needs to be answered is whether an individual can return to their job. They may be unfit due to no fault of their own; however, employers want to know what services are needed and that the employee can perform their duties before they return to work.

The FFD evaluation centers on the assessment of psychological factors resulting from injury due to stress, trauma, and pain. The process involves a review of pre-incident functioning and an assessment of current or interim functioning. Consideration of contributory negligence, intervening factors, and future functioning are all a part of an FFD. These aspects are examined to determine the employee’s fitness (or ability) to continue working in the same position (based on the individual’s job description). Below are some of the possible scenarios resulting in the need for an FFD:

Perhaps an employee suffered a traumatic brain injury from a gas explosion and needs to be evaluated to determine the ability to return to work.

Consider the police officer who witnessed a traumatic event and needs evaluation before returning to duty. His department wants to ensure he does not return too soon and may inquire whether light duty (rather than street patrol) is recommended for a season. Another example could be a flight attendant (whose job requires foreign travel) asked for reassignment to domestic flights only after a near-death experience occurred in another country. A professional licensing board might order an FFD should a practicing member commit a questionable act. For example, if an elderly pharmacist prescribes medication for himself or a family member and the licensing board is tasked with determining the severity of risk (addiction vs. senility/poor judgment vs. mistake of providing penicillin after family member lost her bottle).

Just one more example of an FFD I have commonly performed: Consider an employee who becomes depressed and threatens to take his/her life at work or threatens “payback” to someone. In these cases, I am asked to evaluate the former and current psychological health of the employee to determine their fitness to perform their job description safely and to provide any helpful recommendations. The recommendations are targeted toward services that will enhance the employee’s ability to return to work safely and with the support needed.