What is Forensic Psychology and how can it help me?

A summary of the functions and characteristics of Forensic Psychology as a professional field.

When we find ourselves immersed in a legal proceeding we are assaulted, in addition to the most immense fears, by a sea of doubts about what to expect, how to proceed and who to turn to.

Terminology to which we are not accustomed is used and, among many other actions to be carried out, it is common for our legal representation to recommend that we take the necessary steps, it is common for our legal representation to recommend that we contact a forensic psychologist in order to have a psychological report. in order to have an expert psychological report, which only raises more fears... What is an expert psychological report? What do I need it for? What will it be useful for? Let's clarify concepts and resolve doubts.

What does Forensic Psychology consist of?

Forensic Psychology is that branch of Legal Psychology that is developed in the forum (from the Latin forensis, place where justice is administered) or, in other words, in the courts.It is therefore also often referred to as Psychology applied to the courts.

Recognized by the collegiate body since 1998, the purpose of this discipline is to issue expert reports, which justifies that this science is also known as expert psychology, which is exercised by forensic psychologists or expert psychologists.

Who is a Forensic Psychologist and what does he/she do?

Broadly speaking, a forensic psychologist is that professional with a degree in psychology who has specialized training in the field of forensic psychology and who applies his or her knowledge of the human being to the legal field..

Their appointment can be made at the request of a party or by judicial appointment, i.e., either the person involved in the procedure can privately request their services (both the plaintiff and the defendant), or a judge can do so by using the professional intervention lists of the psychologists' associations or by requesting the participation of the technical advisory teams of the Administration of Justice itself (EATP, SATAF, etc.).

In any case, the main function of the psychologist in the forensic field is to carry out psycho-legal assessments of the legal actors, issuing a Forensic Psychological Report with the ultimate purpose of advising judges in their decision making (judicial resolution) without this meaning, in any way, to condition such provisions, exclusive competence of the judge.

What is an Expert Psychological Report?

The Forensic Psychological Expert Report or Forensic Psychological Report is a document that presents specific structural and content characteristics that are very different from those of a clinical or traditional Psychological Report..

Without going into detail due to the complexity involved in each of the documents, the main difference between the two is that the Clinical Report, taking into account the objective pursued by Clinical Psychology, is conceived as a non-essential instrument in the field of health, while in the forensic field it is an end in itself, since the expert evaluation ends with its drafting and subsequent defense at the hearing, given its nature as judicial evidence.

In this sense, the expert psychological evaluation tries to support and defend a thesis, so that will serve as a means of evidence in a proceeding, providing answers to the questions that motivated its elaboration, which vary according to the jurisdiction in which it was prepared.These vary according to the jurisdiction from which they derive: Civil and Family, Criminal or Labor.

What is an Expert Psychological Report for?

In the Civil and Family Jurisdiction, forensic psychological reports are usually recommended in Guardianship and Custody proceedings in order to evaluate the parental competences of the parents, the effect that the separation or divorce has had on the children, or to make recommendations regarding the contact regime of the children. or to make recommendations regarding the most advisable parent-child contact regime for each family nucleus.

Likewise, also in the civil field, after the recent entry into force of Law 8/2021, which eliminates the judicial incapacitation procedure, Psychological experts assess the person's capacity for self-management and help to determine the support measures that may be necessary for the promotion of their autonomy.

In the Criminal Jurisdiction, forensic psychological examinations evaluate the circumstances that could modify the criminal responsibility (imputability) of the perpetrators, as well as the damage and psychological sequelae, among others, of the victims. Psychology of Testimony also belongs to this field, whereby the expert psychologist will seek to determine the verisimilitude of the account of witnesses and victims of unlawful acts.

It is also customary to request the services of forensic psychologists to determine psychopathologies or psycho-affective alterations in the work environment.. In this sense, in the Labor Jurisdiction, psychological expert opinions help to elucidate the relationship of causality or concausality between altered psychological states and situations of mobbing or burnout and others. Likewise, psychological experts in this field can be used to justify the request for incapacity to work (temporary or permanent), as well as to challenge discharges based on the psychological examination of the worker.

By way of conclusion

In short, the purpose of Forensic Psychology is to evaluate people in order to clarify their relationship with the facts that are being judged, either by determining which personal psycho-affective aspects have promoted the execution of the unlawful act or have been altered as a result of the judged fact.

In addition, it seeks to determine characteristic aspects that are relevant to the procedure, pursuing the ultimate objective of to offer specialized technical advice to the judges by means of the elaboration of a Forensic Report that not only explains the exploration carried out, but also offers conclusions and recommendations regarding the issues that have motivated the forensic psychological evaluation.

Thus, if you need to technically justify some aspect when you are immersed in a judicial procedure, a psychological expert can be a great tool.