Forensic psychologists work with the psychological components of the investigation, legal proceedings, and criminal behaviour to lessen potential future reoffending. 

They will assist in the intervention to help stop the use of illegal drugs and/or alcohol as well as the treatment of offenders in a variety of areas, such as sexual offending, violence and aggressiveness, interpersonal and social skills, and intervention. To lessen the effects of their experiences and the likelihood that they would conduct crimes again, they will provide treatment to people who have broken the law.

 

Understanding individuals, figuring out why they've committed crimes, and attempting to find a method to help them live better lives are all part of forensic psychology. Forensic psychology is concerned with evidence risk. It is anticipated to observe how the information is being implemented and how it makes a difference through ‘personality evaluations, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, statistical research thinking, and practical applications’ (BPS, 2022).

 

When applying to forensic psychology programmes, experience is crucial. Preference is given to people who have worked in a forensic environment, such as a prison, probation office, or adolescent offending programme. This can be a paid or voluntary position. A forensic psychologist needs the right education and experience, but they also need to be well-versed in their field and have outstanding communication skills to adequately convey the theoretical, moral, and legal foundations of their conclusions.

 

While a ‘PhD in forensic psychology is required’ (Fenster, 1975) to work as a forensic psychologist, a forensic bachelor's degree opens several career choices in social services, law enforcement, or investigative work. There are ‘even more career alternatives with a forensic master's degree’ (psychology.org, 2022), such as counselling, social work, or consulting. There is also work within the criminal justice system, legal companies, law enforcement, detective agencies, or independently as a practitioner. It is also possible to specialise in fields including victim advocacy, jury psychology, and crime prevention. 

 

‘Clients are assessed for criminal culpability, trial readiness, and violence risk in jails’ (Davies et al., 2012) and other institutional settings including probation offices and government forensic assessment units. In courts, forensic psychologists give expert testimony as witnesses. Cases and specialities may include ‘juvenile evaluations, punishment and mitigation, sex offender risk assessment, child custody and parental fitness, and child abuse and neglect’ (Weiner et al., 2006).

 

An evaluation may be carried out to decide on a therapeutic treatment plan or only to verify facts, such as mental competence, for use in the legal system. A forensic psychologist may ‘assess a person's mental capacity to assist in determining the facts of a legal case’ (phsychologytoday, 2022) if a lawyer or the court requests that the psychologist do so, although therapeutic treatment is not recommended. When a forensic psychologist is evaluating a patient for therapy, the focus is less on establishing the facts of a case and more on figuring out the patient's issues and choosing the best course of action. A forensic psychologist frequently participates in multidisciplinary teams.

 

In order to assist criminal suspects to comprehend their reasons and accept responsibility for their acts, forensic psychology seeks to ‘identify the factors that lead to criminal behaviour’ (Birgden, 2008). Offenders may be able to alter their thought and behaviour patterns, so they are less likely to act out or conduct crimes in the future by developing this self-awareness as well as a knowledge of the nature and consequences of their crime.

 

Determining treatment within the prison population or alternatives to prison involves many different considerations. The numerous potential therapies are affected by factors such as age, gender, individual circumstances, jurisdiction, resources, mental health, disability, cultural diversity, educational level, and socioeconomic status. As the discipline of forensic psychology develops, evaluates, and suggests alternatives to incarceration, treatment programmes for inmates are more widely used than ever.

 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a type of cognitive therapy that operates under the assumption that the client's ‘cognitive flaws result in mistakenly pessimistic attitudes that remain despite evidence to the contrary’ (Harvey et al.,2012), negative self-talk results from these cognitive distortions. The psychologist will work with the offender to identify automatic negative, anxiety-inducing thoughts, and negative self-talk. They will also work with them to understand the origin of these thoughts. Finally, they will help them to help them assess the situation realistically and replace the negative self-talk with supportive, calming, and positive self-talk. The offender's life before the event or trauma, as well as the circumstances that led up to the occurrence, will be the starting point for reconstructing the trauma or incident tale. The reconstruction of factual recitation follows.

Individual psychotherapy - In an effort to help an offender get better, the judge may order that certain people get individual psychotherapy. But before doing so, the judge will request a forensic assessment. This kind of therapy is almost usually required if the perpetrator has a recognised mental disorder. The defendant will gain knowledge about the ‘cycle of anxiety and panic attacks, symptom management, cognitive restructuring, systemic desensitisation, avoidance behaviour, guilt, humiliation, wrath, and helplessness’ (Kjelsberg et al., 2006) during the therapy process.

Studies have shown that psychological therapies have undergone many more controlled trials in prison settings than medication. Trials of psychological treatment were often modest and comprised a wide range of therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, which had mixed results. ‘120 Iranian inmates participated in a trial in which they were assigned at random to undergo individual cognitive behavioural treatment’ (Khodayarifard et al., 2010), combined individual and group cognitive behavioural therapy, or to be put on a waiting list. According to the study, inmates who underwent cognitive behavioural treatment ‘showed improvements in their psychological well-being symptom levels compared to those who were on a waiting list’ (Khodayarifard et al., 2010). In conclusion, there is some evidence that these psychological therapies are effective, but the effect sizes are small, and it is unclear if the data would hold up in higher-quality designs. As an illustration, employing active controls rather than the conventional waiting list or treatment controls and determining if any improvements are maintained.  

The heightened structures, various laws, housing, and availability of drugs provide special difficulties in the prison setting, which may be the reason why psychiatric treatments are less effective there than on the outside. Research on prisoner-specific therapies is needed, especially around drug abuse.

 

A forensic psychologist can get training in any area of psychology, including ‘clinical, social, organisational’ (DeMatteo et al.,2009), and more. A forensic psychologist is often recognised as a specialist in a certain area of study. The response must be given in a language that the court can comprehend since the questions a forensic psychologist asks are typically not inquiries. To determine whether a defendant is competent to stand trial, for instance, the court usually appoints a forensic psychologist. The process of a convicted individual being reintegrated into society is referred to as rehabilitation. The fundamental goal of contemporary penal policy is to combat persistent offending, often known as ‘criminal recidivism’ (Connell, 2016). There are various alternatives to prison, such as community service, probationary terms, and other procedures requiring counselling and follow-up on behalf of the defence.

One of the pioneers of criminal psychology in the UK, Professor Lionel Haward, outlined the four roles psychologists might play when they engage in legal cases in 1981.

Clinical - A forensic psychologist will often be engaged in the evaluation of a person to offer a clinical opinion. To help in their evaluation, the psychologist may use ‘interviews, evaluation instruments, or psychometric tests’ (Rogers, 2000), for example, unique questionnaires. These evaluations can provide information on a person's psychological functioning to the police, the courts, or the prison and probation services. As a result, these evaluations may have an impact on how the various criminal justice system components handle the relevant authority.

Experimental- A forensic psychologist may research to support a case in this situation. This may entail performing experiments to demonstrate a point or provide the court's further information for example, ‘how likely it is that someone can correctly identify an object in the hand of an individual from a distance of 100 meters’ (Haward, 1981). Alternately, it might entail psychologists summarising recent study findings for the court that might be significant to the case at hand.

Actuarial - If a forensic psychologist is asked to provide the court with actuarial data on the likelihood of an event, it would be an example of how they may act in an actuarial position. Before deciding on a sentence, the court would want to know how likely a criminal is to commit another offence. In such a situation, the court could request the assistance of a forensic psychologist to ‘inform the pre-sentence report’ (Fletcher et al, 2021).

Advisory- In this capacity, the psychologist can ‘counsel the police on how to conduct an inquiry’ (Haward, 1981). For instance, the investigation could benefit from knowing the offender's profile or it might be helpful to have guidance on how to question a particular suspect. As an alternative, a prosecutor or defence attorney may request guidance on how to effectively cross-examine a witness who is weak or another expert witness. In this position, the psychologist consults with the prison, probation, and judicial systems as needed. 

Forensic psychologists frequently provide advice and testify as experts during court cases.

In both civil and criminal cases, ‘forensic psychologists give their professional assistance to the legal system’ (Cooke, 1980). To mentally evaluate people in the legal system, these specialists require good forensic abilities. Additionally, forensic psychologists should be proficient in evaluation, interviewing, report writing, and case presenting in addition to having good verbal communication skills. 

 

Forensic psychologists frequently act as consultants and expert witnesses in court cases. They can offer perspectives on client competency, punishment, and therapy. These psychologists ‘create criminal profiles using the evidence from crime scenes to reduce suspect lists’ (psychology.org, 2022). In addition, forensic psychologists provide legal and administrative companies with consulting services.

 

A forensic psychologist will assist in giving prisoners the tools they need to transition from a situation of mostly unpredictability to one where they can depart and go on to lead better lives. To assess the psychological requirements of service users, forensic psychologists will meet with them. From there, they will create care and treatment plans.

 

Being a Forensic Psychologist (2019) https://www.bps.org.uk

 

Birgden, A. (2008). Offender rehabilitation: A normative framework for forensic psychologists. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 15(3), 450-468.

 

Blackburn, R. (1996). What is forensic psychology?. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 1(1), 3-16.

 

Connell, C. (2016). Forensic occupational therapy to reduce risk of reoffending: a survey of practice in the United Kingdom. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 27(6), 907-928.

 

Cooke, G. (Ed.). (1980). The role of the forensic psychologist. Springfield, IL: Thomas.

Davies, G. M., & Beech, A. R. (Eds.). (2012). Forensic psychology: Crime, justice, law, interventions. John Wiley & Sons.

 

DeMatteo, D., Fairfax-Columbo, J., & Desai, A. (2019). Becoming a forensic psychologist. Routledge.

 

DeMatteo, D., Marczyk, G., Krauss, D. A., & Burl, J. (2009). Educational and training models in forensic psychology. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 3(3), 184.

 

Fazel, S., Hayes, A. J., Bartellas, K., Clerici, M., & Trestman, R. (2016). Mental health of prisoners: prevalence, adverse outcomes, and interventions. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(9), 871-881.

 

Fenster, C. A., Litwack, T. R., & Symonds, M. (1975). The making of a forensic psychologist: Needs and goals for doctoral training. Professional psychology, 6(4), 457.

 

Fletcher, M., Gredecki, N., & Turner, P. (2021). Forensic risk assessments. In Forensic Psychology (pp. 44-56). Routledge.

 

Forensic Psychology Degree Overview (2022) https://www.psychology.org/degrees/forensic-psychology/

 

 

Forensic Therapy (2022) https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/therapy-types/forensic-therapy

 

Harvey, J., & Smedley, K. (Eds.). (2012). Psychological therapy in prisons and other settings. Routledge.

 

Haward, L. R. (1981). Forensic psychology (pp. 56-57). London: Batsford Academic and Educational.

 

Khodayarifard, M., Shokoohi-Yekta, M., & Hamot, G. E. (2010). Effects of individual and group cognitive-behavioural therapy for male prisoners in Iran. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 54(5), 743-755.