Psychological expert report: what is it and how is it done?

This document must meet a number of characteristics before being submitted to the authorities.

The field of psychology is quite broad, its application ranges from clinical to countless other areas. Among them, forensic psychology stands out for having a series of characteristics and tools of its own in which the interests of the persons evaluated are not the most important thing. The psychological expert report is one of these tools..

Like the other psychological reports, this is a scientific, legal, intrusive, and is a scientific, legal, non-transferable and personal document.. The main difference between the psychological expert report is that the process ends once the report has been delivered.

In this article we will see what a psychological expert report is and how it is made, its structure and characteristics.

When a psychological expert report is required.

Specifically within the forensic branch of psychology, the forensic psychological expert report is the culmination of the work performed by the forensic psychology professional..

Thus, this document is made to inform the judicial processes of the psychological characteristics of one or more persons paying special attention to what this implies about the facts that are being investigated and that could entail penalization.

This report contains the information gathered in the forensic evaluation, and is then sent to the authority that has requested it, whether it is a judge or a prosecutor who requires the report to be used in court.

Taking into account that the psychological expert report is the achievement of the psychologist's work in this area, must be prepared with special care. Let's see now the considerations to take into account at the moment of its elaboration.

Drafting: how is it done?

First of all, it must be taken into account that this type of report is addressed to people who do not belong to the psychology profession.Therefore, it should not contain too many unexplained psychological terms; the clearer and more universal the language used in the writing, the better.

The forensic psychologist who has written the report must be prepared to appear before the hearing and answer as clearly as possible all the questions asked by the authorities present. That is why in the psychological expert report there must be contrastable and defendable evidenceThe relevant details of the case should not be overlooked, as a question may arise from one of them during the hearing.

Irrelevant aspects of the case should be avoided at all costs, as well as inaccuracies in the statements. The content of the document must be fully coherent and argumentativeOtherwise the report may be declared invalid for the case.

The forensic psychologist must not under any circumstances give any judgment towards the subject in question, since the psychological expert report must be free of any kind of bias. must be free of all kinds of biases and personal opinions.. The imputability of the subject is the responsibility of the judge who will read the report. The psychological expert will only expose the mental alterations that could have given rise to the actions committed by the subject in question.

Its structure

The report should begin by stating that it is a forensic psychological report. After this, the information begins to be filled out in a structured manner, as we will see below.

1. Identification data of the expert and the person being assessed

These are the details of the forensic psychologist in charge of preparing the report.

2. Reason for the report

The purpose of the report is stated and The request in the court order is quoted verbatim..

3. Methodology

The techniques used during the evaluation process of the subject are mentioned and explained: direct observation, semi-structured interview, psychological tests...

4. Presentation of the information collected

It includes the subject's family, personal, toxicological, hygiene, sleeping and eating habits, medical history and psychological background.. At the end, it is clearly explained which are the relevant antecedents for the case and why.

Its fundamental characteristics

Apart from the aspects in the wording already mentioned, there are two indispensable characteristics for a correct communication of the results in the psychological expert report.

1. It is a scientific document

Through this report a research work is carried out which, despite not being generalizable beyond the case examined, uses scientific procedures to generate valid and reliable information.

In other words, it is a scientific document, and as such, it must meet the following criteria for its validity.

• It must be a procedure subject to standards that can only be applied by a forensic psychology professional.
• The conditions set forth in the report shall only be of a psycho-legal nature, set out in such a way that they can be understood by members of the court..
• The data contained within the report should be sufficient for replication by other forensic psychologists.

2. The document must comply with a series of legal characteristics.

There are not only scientific validity requirements; it must also adhere to regulations that depend on the legislative framework of the country in which the work is performed. It must be drafted taking into account the constitutional guarantees and the laws of the country of residence.. For example, in Spain it is according to the Law of Criminal Procedure. It fulfills the function of an evidentiary element, that is to say, it serves as a guarantee for judicial decisions.

Final considerations

The psychological expert report is an archivable document that does not lose validity, i.e., it serves as a basis for future evaluationsIt functions as a background of a specific situation in a person's life, to determine, for example, the date on which he or she had a psychotic episode. However, by itself it is not used as a tool to predict the behavior of the evaluated subjects, but only as part of the evidence to be taken into account.