Interview with Fernando Azor: the expert psychologist in mobbing cases.

Psychologist Fernando Azor talks about the role of the expert psychologist in cases of mobbing.

Workplace harassment, or mobbingis a problem that affects more people than it seems; several researches suggest that these attacks are suffered by about 10% of the workers who are working.

The consequences of this form of harassment go beyond the discomfort generated by the attacks in the specific moments in which they occur; in addition, they can even favor the appearance of physical or psychological disorders, and often pose obstacles to promotion or career advancement.

However, psychology can intervene in these cases both by helping the victims through professional psychological support in therapy, as well as in expert witness processes that help to record the extent of these attacks and their consequences. To better understand this last aspect, we interviewed psychologist Fernando Azoran expert in psychological expertise.

Fernando Azor: psychological expertise applied to cases of mobbing

Fernando Azor Lafarga is a psychologist specialized in clinical psychology, psychological expertise and aeronautical psychology. He has been practicing in the field of psychological assistance for 20 years, and currently runs the Azor & Asociados center, located in Tres Cantos, although he also offers online therapy. Throughout this interview he explains the role of the expert psychologist in cases of workplace harassment.

What are the patterns of behavior that can be considered mobbing, as opposed to simple jokes in bad taste, unfriendly attitudes and so on?

Conflicts are present in most of the situations in which we interact with other people. The mere fact of wanting different things makes us have to negotiate, impose, adapt... When we talk about conflict, we are talking about situations in which aggressive attitudes arise, but which in most cases have a symmetrical character. That is to say, there are usually threats, disqualifications, criticisms, coercion and others on both sides.

In the case of mobbing, the conflict occurs in a different way. There is usually one party that coerces and attacks, and another that, although it defends itself, has few options to do so.

In cases of mobbing that have been taken to court, is the expert psychologist's report always used to prove the existence or non-existence of psychological sequelae in the victim, or can it have other uses?

The expert's report is not always requested within a legal process. But it certainly makes important differences when facing a trial or a negotiation. As you say, one of the most frequent uses of an expert opinion is to record that an event has left psychological sequelae. It is evaluated if certain psychological problems are compatible with the facts that are being evaluated. In addition, other causes that could precipitate the same problem are sought in order to make a differential assessment.

In addition to assessing the sequelae, the previous state of the victim or aggressor is analyzed, depending on the objective of the evaluation. In this way a more detailed analysis of the situation can be made. The previous history is analyzed and previous clinical reports that may have been generated are studied.

What strategic advantages does having an expert psychological report provide to the victim of harassment in terms of the likelihood that the judicial process will serve to repair damages?

An expert report can certify a symptomatology and its compatibility with a post-traumatic stress disorder or an adaptive disorder. When our forensic tool HI-mob is applied, computer analysis, criminalistic analysis and certification of messaging and e-mail conversations are added. When there is evidence in the communications, we can get to join many data that make evident the behavior of harassment at work.

In the psychological expert report, other possible causes are ruled out and the relationship between the symptomatology and the reported situation is analyzed in depth, that is, the forensic repercussions are analyzed.

What are the most important particularities that you would highlight in the expertise processes applied to workplace bullying? For example, comparing them with other common cases in this field, such as child custody disputes in divorce proceedings, or the psychological after-effects of accidents or assaults.

In cases of workplace bullying, the main problem is that it is not easy to observe and certify the coercion itself. For this reason we seek to detect the emotional imprint left by this type of situation. In that sense it is similar to parental alienation syndrome.

When a person asks for the services of a psychologist with experience in expertise, does the latter advise him/her on which aspects to investigate are most relevant to his/her interests, or does he/she just explore what the client tells him/her?

The expert evaluation is quite regulated in terms of the aspects to be evaluated, what happens is that depending on the approach that a lawyer wants to give to the case, more or less emphasis can be placed on some factors. By joining the forensic work to the lawyer's work we are more efficient in observing, analyzing and giving objectivity to the legal arguments.

What are usually the main work stages that a psychologist must go through when obtaining information and issuing a forensic psychological report in these mobbing cases?

The first thing is to study the feasibility of the report. We must assess the indicators of harassment and make a differential evaluation with a conflict.

From there we move on to the evaluation by means of an interview and psychometric tests. With these data, the documentation provided prior to the expert's report is analyzed, such as sick leave reports, injury reports, complaints, psychotherapy treatments... With this data, all the information is integrated and the psychological expert's report is carried out.

What are the standards of privacy and confidentiality in the process of collecting information to make the report?

A report is associated with a large amount of information that is collected within the evaluation process and for the elaboration of the content. It is also necessary to analyze other previous reports and bibliography. For all these reasons, it is vital that data protection protocols are complied with. It is very sensitive information and must be encrypted and stored in secure locations.