Keys to knowing when to need a psychological report at the judicial level

During my career as a professional in Forensic Psychology, I have always encountered many and varied requests from people who need a report for the judicial field. Even with clients in both the civil and criminal fields (or any other field) who, generally, they were not very clear why or for what they wanted that report that they needed for a judgment.

To understand everything, it is necessary to take into account that in our country, the figure of the Forensic Psychologist or psychologist started in Spain since the 80s, to grow little by little throughout the territory. A Forensic Psychologist is an expert psychologist within the judicial field, whose task is to evaluate and produce reports on objects of expertise requested by the parties.

Initially, his figure was always better known from the public sphere, especially in the family sphere, when there were problems of custody of minors involved. And, later, also extending the figure of him as a private professional.

For a long time it has been thought that the public professional was more neutral, or his assessment was more correct than the professional private sector, due to the false belief that "as the client pays that professional, it is understood that he has less neutrality". Obviously this is not and should not be the case, being more and more a relevant figure within the Spanish legal system, not because it is private or public, it is neither a better professional nor more neutral.

That's why I'm going to give you 10 keys to knowing when to seek a psychologist for an expert psychological report.

• Related article: "Forensic Psychology: definition and functions of the forensic psychologist"

How and why to look for a psychologist who does judicial psychological reports

Keep these key ideas in mind when making your decision.

1. It is not therapy, only evaluation

Do not look for a therapy psychologist, it has nothing to do. The psychologist who gives you therapy can make you a history report, but it is not a report with the guarantees or the content or the appropriate form for the judicial field.

Thus, the professional who is only a therapist is not trained to intervene in the legal field. If you need therapy, look for a therapist, but if you are unwell due to some psychological sequel that, although it may require treatment, it is related to a justification for a judgment that you need to obtain, seek a Psychologist Forensic.

2. If you need proof of your mental state ...

Whether for various reasons requested by the client, the psychological report it is always a test in a trial, and that is its function.

If you need proof of a psychological sequel after a traffic accident (let's say example that you develop a phobia of driving after an accident, or that after a crime, you develop a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), you need to be able to demonstrate two things: that you really have a disorder and that it is really generated by that episode.

This is where the report enters, because it is an exhaustive evaluation mechanism that, in addition, must be duly argued and justified by the most up-to-date bibliography and the latest research in each area outlined in the report. The more formal and detailed your test, the more chances you will have of a judgment in your favor.

3. It is key when you are looking for the truth

If you have a legal problem, do not fall into believing that the mere fact of hiring a judicial psychologist to make a report assumes that the report will only prove you right. If you think like this, you are wrong.

The professional must always be neutral, whether hired by you or appointed from the same court. And this is what you will receive in the report, sometimes it will be beneficial for you, other times not, and sometimes neither.

4. You need a complete job

Too many times I have been told that "why such a high price for a report, that in two afternoons I have it". Or that "what I need is something simple for a trial." This is a very big mistake, if you go for a report you have to apply for a full job.

A good report is not made in "two afternoons" and there are no "simple" reports. The psychological expert report carries a process that begins with a prior analysis: when the client, either through himself or through his lawyer, raises the object of the expert. The first thing is to study if it can be carried out, see what tests or ways to evaluate you should apply, and finally make a budget for the service you are going to carry.

Later comes the evaluation, which is not fixed, since it can be extended, and that must be included in the price of the report in advance, since what you pay is not only the time of the professional, but also the final result of the test they have carried out for you.

Finally, you have to write the report, capture the results and, most importantly, justify the conclusions; Because let us remember that, as evidence, it helps the elements of the Spanish legal system, which are in charge of such important decisions, have the greatest amount of data.

But this is the report, then a return is usually made with the client. It is important that you understand what has been obtained and then you have to defend or ratify that report in oral hearing / trial, which could be anywhere in Spain.

If you read this remember that when hiring you are looking for a professional who will do the complete job for you, even though this carries a high price.

5. Value custodians

The reports custodians are not decided, but rather reflect the relationship between parents and their children to see the educational and relationship suitability they have between them, for the judge to assess whether a custody is adequate towards a father or a mother.

I put this point because the area of ​​minors is very common to request these reports. What if, The minor can be examined by notifying the other party, even if they do not agree, if it is for the preparation of a report.

A good forensic psychological report is essential for this area, and here it is important to look for a well-trained and specialized professional.

6. The time required to present the proof

The most common problem is that clients ask you for a report to do it in a week or 15 days; Always, as a rule, when I receive these types of clients, I usually answer that my professionalism prevents me from adjusting to these short deadlines.

This is because a report is not something that is done quickly, if you go back to point 4 you will see all the steps that must be passed. Thus, whenever you are going to request a report, do so in advance, at least one month.

7. Do not forget to hire it for its price: well raised, it is not as expensive as you think

I would like to expand this on another point. The expert reports are expensive, normally they are around a price higher than € 1000 (this in 2020), but what you are going to hire is not anything, it is something that can mark the difference between one result or another in the judicial environment.

Logically, a complex tool that must also be defended in court will be expensive. In addition, it is not a payment in installments, but a unique one, so that in the fund the investment is not as large as one thinks.

I put a comparison. If you go to a health / clinical psychologist to do therapy sessions, on average the session usually costs about € 50 and you go weekly for 6 months, which may be the appropriate duration. At the end of your intervention you have paid around € 1200 (probably more). Seen from this perspective, now the long hours of work performed by a psychologist in the judicial field is not as expensive as it seems.

8. When it's useful and you really need it

Here sometimes it is not so much the client's fault, but his lawyer's, that by trying to obtain one more proof that can help, prompts the client to look for a report; but then this report is either not necessary or it is really pointless.

Let's take the example of the traffic accident again; Let's think that the person develops a psychological sequel, and the lawyer asks the expert to evaluate the credibility of the testimony. It could be done, but it makes no sense to evaluate this aspect, and a psychopathological evaluation of sequelae would be more useful.

In addition, countless times I have been asked to evaluate another person, for example the opposite party, without seeing them. This is impossible and it is a huge mistake, apart from the fact that it is unethical and does not make sense. The professional can only capture the information that he has evaluated and about the people he has seen.

9. Be clear that it is a tool, not a guarantee

It is normal that a client, when requesting a report, wants it to be made perfect; he deserves no less. But a good report is no guarantee of victory in a trial, even if it is favorable to the person.

You have to understand that it is just another tool, but that it does not give a full guarantee, because this is totally uncontrollable. Do not hire it if you are not aware of this point.

The important thing is to have well-trained professionals and a well-defined object of expertise to maximize the possibilities.

10. Good and healthy questions

Sometimes the goal is not just to have the report. It is also know that lawyers should ask the appropriate questions so that the professional can provide said information in an oral hearing.

That is to say, having only the report and that the professional arrives and says: "I ratify it", basically it is losing money. It is important for the lawyer to consider what he can and should ask; He will do it if it is favorable to him, but also if he is not. Because his objective is to disassemble the report as evidence if it does not benefit his client, or to rely on his thesis if it gives him a better chance of winning.

It is also important to know how to ask questions about the reports of the opponents, although in Spain the figure of the "counter-report" is not very well regarded.

Are you interested in knowing more?

If you need more information to request a report, please contact me; My name is Rubén Tovar, I am a Health Psychologist and specialized in Clinical, Legal and Forensic Psychology by the UCM and founder of Terapiaencasa.es. Both I and my colleague Luis Lucio Lobato, Health Psychologist and university professor, carry out reports throughout the Spanish territory.

From our methodology, two professionals always intervene, because it gives greater credibility and neutrality to our reports. In addition, we always justify with the maximum detail all the information that we put into our reports.

If you need more information ask us through these contact details.