Karen Franklin, Ph.D.
Selected Topics:
I receive many queries from college students interested in pursuing forensic psychology as a career. This page answers many of these students' basic questions. Further resources are listed at the bottom.
Forensic psychologists are licensed clinical psychologists who specialize in applying psychological knowledge to legal matters, both in the criminal and civil arenas. Forensic psychology is an emerging sub-discipline of psychology, with its own professional organizations, training programs, and research journals. Legal issues in which forensic psychologists are frequently involved include the mental state of criminal defendants (insanity, competency, etc.), witness accuracy, jury behavior, child custody/family law, violence risk prediction, mediation/dispute resolution, discrimination, civil damages, social science research (e.g., recovered memory) and civil commitment. Forensic psychologists may be found in academia, public service, and the private sector.
Forensic psychologists are akin to psychological detectives. In other words, the work involves a strong investigatory component. We must compare data from multiple sources in order to test alternative hypotheses. The emphasis is on written reports and court testimony that are scientifically valid and can withstand scrutiny in the adversarial environment of the courtroom.
To be successful, forensic
psychologists
need a variety of skills, including:
* Firm clinical psychology
background,
including a thorough knowledge of social and cultural issues;
* Legal knowledge, including
knowledge
of mental health law, relevant case law, and courtroom procedures;
* Firm grounding in theory and
current empirical research (knowledge of scientific validity issues,
research
design, statistics, and testing)
* Excellent report-writing and
presentation skills
At the present time, there is no single acceptable training model for forensic psychologists. The dominant model continues to be one in which a student pursues a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, and subsequently pursues a postdoctoral specialization in forensics. However, more and more graduate schools are beginning to adopt forensic tracks. And undergraduate courses in psychology-law are also increasingly popular. Only a handful of formal postdoctoral specialization programs exist nationwide, and these programs are quite small and selective, accepting only one to two candidates per year. These rigorous programs are aimed at training future leaders in the field. In addition, four joint psychology-law degree programs are currently in existence. For most practitioners, these programs are not cost-effective, although some law schools offer a more economical, one-year Master of Legal Studies degree. Graduate students who are interested in becoming forensic psychologists should apply for forensic-related internships (such as at forensic hospitals, correctional facilities, and community mental health settings). They should also tailor their doctoral dissertation to a psychology-law topic that will advance their professional career interests.
Forensic psychology is a growing field. Currently, the American Psychology-Law Society has more than 2000 members, and the number continues to grow. Many psychologists are seeking to respecialize into this field in order to escape the confines of managed care. Undergraduate students are attracted to the field by our culture's growing absorption with all matters criminal, as well as fictional depictions such as TV's "The Profiler." The growth of forensic psychology is not without controversy. Some have accused forensic psychologists of being hired guns or "whores." Recent federal court decisions are causing increasing scientific scrutiny of psychological evidence. This in turn is leading to the development of increasingly rigorous training programs, instruments, and procedures that will allow us to withstand such adversarial scrutiny. In the long run, well-trained forensic psychologists will likely fare well in the increasingly skeptical marketplace of the future.
For further information:
"Training in Law and Psychology: Models from the Villanova Conference," by Bersoff, Goodman-Delahunty, Grisso, Hans, Poythress, and Roesch, American Psychologist, December 1997 (Vol. 52 #12), pp. 1301-1310.
"Psychological Evaluations for the Courts: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals and Lawyers," Second Edition, by Melton, Petrila, Poythress, and Slobogin, the Guilford Press, 1997.
"The Psychologist as Expert Witness," Second Edition, by Theodore H. Blau, John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Also see the Links page for selected forensic psychology resources on the Web.
