The 4 phases of forensic psychological expertise (and their characteristics)

These are the stages through which the expertise of a forensic psychologist develops.

Psychology professionals intervene in a wide variety of fields that go beyond psychotherapy. Forensic psychology is an example of this, because the work performed in it, although indirectly related to mental health care, has its own entity within the labor and judicial world.

In this article we will see what are the stages of forensic psychological expertisea key process within forensic psychology.

The main stages of forensic psychological expertise.

The fundamental tool that forensic psychologists have at their disposal is the psychological expert report, an essential document in the forensic field. It is a document that includes relevant information for the justice system and also for some public and private entities; for example, whether or not a person presents psychological alterations or has presented them at some key moment in the past.

Thus, the psychological expert report is a legal, scientific, personal and non-transferable document that functions as an essential tool to settle psychological questions in the judicial field, and also to provide necessary information in investigations based on questions about the rights and obligations of the parties involved..

But in order to elaborate and make good use of such a report, forensic psychological expertise must go through several stages. They are as follows.

1. First interview

The first phase of the forensic psychological assessment consists of a general analysis of the situation through an initial interview, in which psychologists conduct an assessment of the case in its entirety, as well as the current situation and the feasibility of initiating (or not) a forensic psychological assessment.

In addition to that, in this first phase we carry out an initial assessment of the documentation provided by the client and a confidentiality and data protection agreement is signed..

2. Evaluation and analysis of the documentation provided

In the second phase of the report, one or more in-depth expert interviews are carried out, unlike the previous phase, where the facts and causes that motivate the request for the report were analyzed, as well as the history of the person being evaluated.

In addition, in this phase, the forensic psychologist also conducts an exhaustive analysis of the documentation provided by the client (estimating its validity taking into account the objective) and the relevant psychometric tests are carried out in order to standardize the information and draw scientifically valid conclusions.

In the second phase of the psychological expert report, the collaboration of other professionals may also be requested, which may include other forensic experts and specialized criminologists.

3. Preparation of the report

Next comes the report writing phase, in which the expert psychologists compile and put into words all the data obtained in phase 2. the data obtained in phase 2, with the objective of reaching the pertinent conclusions..

The report comprises the following phases.

3.1. Conclusions of the forensic psychological expert's report

The first part of the report consists of a summary of the conclusions, including the most relevant ones, so that the reader can identify the most important information at a glance..

3.2. Introduction, background and objectives of the psychological assessment report

Next, the objectives and scope of the psychological report are presented, as well as a summary of the curriculum of the office that prepared the document and of the team involved in the task, if applicable.

This phase of the report writing process also serves to situate the readers in the essential information and to present the necessary background for the understanding of the situation. necessary to understand the situation.

3.3. Sources of information, results obtained and signature

The last phase of the report preparation consists of a description of the documentation and other sources of information provided by the client, as well as the bibliography consulted.

In addition, this last section a discussion of the results obtained and the forensic conclusions are providedThe signatures of the interested parties are included.

4. Ratification

The last phase is the ratification phase by the forensic psychologists, which consists of going to the court the court to answer the different questions that they may wish to ask during the trial. that the different interested parties involved in the trial may wish to ask during the trial.

As with the previous phases, this final phase may not be necessary during the process of preparing the expert psychological report.

Looking for forensic psychology services?

If you are interested in forensic psychological expertise services, please contact us. At Azor & Associates We have been working for many years in this field as well as in psychotherapy, and we work both in person and online. You will find more information on our website.