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

Psychology professionals intervene in a wide variety of areas that go beyond psychotherapy. Forensic psychology is an example of this, since the work carried out in it, although indirectly related to mental health care, have their own entity within the world of work and judicial.

In this article we will see what they are the stages of forensic psychological expertise, a key process within forensic psychology.

• Related article: "The 12 branches (or fields) of Psychology"

The main stages of forensic psychological expertise

The fundamental tool that forensic psychologists have is the psychological expert report, an essential document in the forensic field. It is a document that includes relevant information for justice 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 a essential tool to resolve psychological issues in the judicial field, and also to provide information necessary in

inquiries based on inquiries about the rights and obligations of the parties involved.

But to produce and use a report of this type well, the forensic psychological expertise must go through several stages. They are as follows.

1. First interview

The first phase of the forensic psychological expertise consists of a general analysis of the situation through an initial interview, in which the psychologists We carry out an evaluation of the case in its entirety, as well as the current situation and the feasibility of starting (or not) a psychological expert opinion forensic.

In addition to that, in this first phase it is carried out a first assessment of the documentation provided by the client and the 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 phase above, where the facts and causes that motivate the request for the report were analyzed, as well as the history of the person evaluated.

In addition to that, in this phase, the forensic psychologist performs an exhaustive analysis of the documentation provided by the client (estimating its validity taking into account the objective) and the pertinent 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, including other forensic specialists and specialized criminologists.

• You may be interested in: "Forensic Psychology: definition and functions of the forensic psychologist"

3. Elaboration of the report

Next, we move on to the report preparation phase, in which psychologist experts collect and put into words all the data obtained in phase 2, with the aim of reaching the relevant conclusions.

The report comprises the following phases.

3.1. Conclusions of the forensic psychological expertise

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

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

Next, the objectives and scope of the psychological report are presented, as well as a summary curriculum of the Cabinet that has prepared the document and of the team that has been involved in said task, if it is the case.

This phase of report writing It also serves to locate readers on essential information and present necessary background information. for understanding the situation.

3.3. Information sources, results obtained and signature

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

Besides that, in this last section a discussion of the results obtained and the forensic conclusions is offered, and the signatures of the interested parties are included.

4. Ratification

The last phase is that of ratification by forensic psychologists, and consists of going to court to answer the different questions that the different interested parties and those involved in it wish to formulate during the trial.

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

Looking for forensic psychology services?

If you are interested in having services in forensic psychological expertise, get in touch with us. On Azor & Asociados We have been working both in this field and in psychotherapy for many years, and we work both in person and online. You will find more information on our website.