Forensic Psychology - The FreeZone Midwestern State University法医心理学-保税区中西部州立大学.pptVIP

Forensic Psychology Origin of the term Forensic – from the Latin word “forum” – public gathering places in the Roman city-states where much of the judicial process took place in the form of debates – thus, forensic psychology deals with the intersection of psychology and the legal process Definition The professional practice by psychologists within the areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, neuropsychology, and school psychology, when they are engaged regularly as experts and represent themselves as such, in an activity primarily intended to provide professional psychological expertise to the judicial system. Critical Judgments That Mental-Health Professionals Are Asked to Make About People Accused of Crimes Whether they are competent to stand trial Whether they were sane at the time the crimes were committed. Clinical psychologists specializing in forensic psychology work with individuals who may present with a variety of mental illnesses and mental health issues within the context of the criminal or civil arenas of the law. Criminal: situations in which an individual has committed a crime against society Examples: insanity pleas, competency to stand trial, assessment of future violence potential, treatment of sex offenders Civil: a plaintiff believes someone else has physically or emotionally injured them Examples: personal injury suits, civil commitment proceedings, child custody disputes, workers compensation cases Competency to Stand Trial People who do not have an understanding of what is happening to them in a courtroom and who cannot participate in their own defense are said to be incompetent to stand trial. Defense attorneys suspect impaired competence in their clients in up to 10 percent of cases. Psychologists have developed tests of cognitive abilities important to following legal proceedings, and people who perform poorly on these tests. Insanity Defense Insanity is actually a legal term rather than a psychological or medical term,