Dr. Liljequist Summary

How must it be to live in a criminal mind? How must it be to completely loose the sense of normality? I heartily believe that Forensic Psychology holds the key which opens an entire world of psychopathologies, mental deformities, twisted thoughts and repressed needs of bestiality. Besides letting you sink into the most dangerous minds, it gives you the armament to combat everything hiding in there- knowledge.

Psychologists work to develop a robust and steadfast foundation of knowledge based on comprehensive research work. Their primary objective is to apply appropriate knowledge to help improve the society. As a result, the Ethics Code provides a set of values where the psychologists build on their professional work (American Psychological Association, 2010). In this regard, although both the ethical principles of psychology and the specialty guidelines for forensic psychologists are different, the overlap and are almost very similar.

The clinician develops a professional relationship with the client in order to assess and treat their disorder. A Forensic psychologist work requirements are different from a clinician in the field of psychology because the services he/she provides are in areas where they have specialized knowledge, skills, experience and education. He/she administers assessments to determine competency to stand trial and can testify as an expert witness. The forensic psychologist does not have a professional relationship with the client as their main focus is assessing the individual in order to submit a report to the court (Hubaboom, 2002).

Unit 2 homework and quiz: Psychology’s Voice in the Legal System; Psychologists’ Licensing and Ethical Guidelines.

The Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct, published by the American Psychological Association are the standard guidelines for all Psychologists. Forensic Psychologists are also informed by Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologist. Psychologists practicing forensic psychology can use these two documents to help clarify ethical questions. This paper will focus on role conflicts specifically in the area of Sex Offender Management and the ethical conflicts that may arise as a result and how to best handle this situation when faced with it. When an individual chooses to practice psychology within the legal system, they must be aware that this can at any point in their career lead to ethical conflicts. Just the possibility

Although, forensic psychology was founded decades ago, it still remains as one of the more recent branches of psychology. The contribution of a forensic psychologist plays a critical role in the process of many crime investigations. The most important task of a forensic psychologist is conducting psychological assessments of any suspect involved in a crime case, including children. For that reason, a forensic psychologist must have a strong foundation of both clinical skills and law training (Ward, 2013).

According to Greenberg & Shuman (1997), they note that there are ten differences between the forensic psychologist and the treating psychologist providing therapy. 1) For the Forensic psychologist, the attorney is the client. For the therapist it is the mental health therapist. The highest priority is the therapist client privilege. 2) When it comes to privilege, the attorney-client and the attorney work product is privilege. 3) The cognitive and evaluative attitude for the forensic psychologist is neutral, detached and impartial. The same for the therapist is supportive, empathic and accepting. 4) There are differing aspects of competency of each professional, for the forensic psychologist it is the forensic evaluation, techniques that are appropriate to the legal claim. As for the therapist, the therapeutic techniques for treatment of the disorder or complaint. 5) The nature of the hypothesis tested by each psychological expert, for the forensic psychologist is psycholegal criteria for purpose of legal adjudication. The therapist/psychologist criteria is different, their criteria

If a profiler uses false information in an investigation to delay the apprehension of an offender, the misuse of criminal profiling can produce an ethical predicament. An ethical dilemma such as this speaks to the character of the individual. The Ethical Principles of Psychologist and Code of Conduct, and the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists prohibit psychologist from presenting false information as fact. They also state that psychologist should be able to provide evidence that proves their findings. Ultimately, preventive measures are in place to deter instances like this.

Clarifying the roles of a mental health professional and avoiding multiple relationships with their clients could be the best way to avoid pitfalls when it comes to ethical and moral standards. It is best to address the non-therapeutic nature with the client when the forensic evaluator has been hired by the courts, specifically by either defendant or prosecutor.

This psych article explains how the evolution of ethical guidelines has brought guidance for the psychologists during their studies. Authors, Morgan and Carroll say “the evolution of ethical guidelines advocates for the continuing role of psychologists in the provision of consultation to help ensure safe, legal, ethical, and effective operations” (1). This article also lists five ethical guidelines and principles that most psychologists also follow. These guidelines include beneficence and no maleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people’s rights and dignity. When it comes to beneficence and no maleficence psychologists ensure that their work minimizes any harm.

I’ve never really thought too much into psychology has far has forensic, because I never heard anything particularly about forensic psychology. The reasons I feel that forensic psychology relates too many of my interest is because I’m often put in situations where I help people through their problems and I always want to understand more about why they feel the way they feel or do the things that they do. I usually help the person get to a good place where they can prosper from the situation. It is also a habit that I tend to do often which is what I call “read someone” meaning that I just pick things out about the person from their body language, attire, to the way they speak and many other characteristics. It’s a way I get to know someone before I get acquainted with the person. I think many things like such examples I provided is possibly a reason why psychology interest

Whatever the focus, many forensic psychologists will engage in such acts as serve as witnesses in order to provide expert opinion regarding an individual’s mental state and, assess criminal defendants to provide the court with psychological evaluations concerning threat risk or recommended treatment.

Forensic psychology is the connection between psychology and the justice system. The word forensic derives from the Latin word “forensic” meaning “forum” the place where trials were accompanied in Roman times. There are many definitions that exist for forensic psychology but the more narrow definition applies to the intersection of clinical psychology to legal matters.

Forensic psychologists: Roles and activities. (2004). In The concise Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Retrieved from http://search.credoreference.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/content/entry/wileypsych/forensic_psychologists_roles_and_activities/0

Allan identifies four main reasons for legal-ethical confounds in the fields of correctional and forensic psychology. The first is that because workers in these fields are working with or counseling criminals there is a possibility that the workers will become “ethically desensitized” by exposure to the clients surroundings and counseling conditions (Allan, 2013). The second reason is that legislation defines the role of psychologists in the courtroom in such vague terms and doesn’t accurately describe the full role they play; this therefore, makes it difficult to draw legal-ethical guidelines because of the lack of description. Thirdly, this lack of description means that the writings and teachings of legal-ethical guidelines are mainly based in clinical practices and are often times not adequate enough for real world application in the legal system. Lastly, because of their interactions with the legal system and its agents, correctional and forensic psychologists tend to adopt the ethical practices of the legal system for fear of losing credibility among other concerns. All of these factors combined lead to the generalized complaint that correctional and forensic psychologists feel unprepared and “unsupported” in their fields (Allan, 2013). Allan supports these claims by citing research conducted by various people and legislation. Allan’s view is logical in that it follows a rational pattern; his first and last reasons are based in assimilation and adaptation, the second and third reasons build off the principle of