Forensic Clinical Emphasis

Forensic Clinical Emphasis

The Forensic Clinical emphasis concentrates on preparing clinicians who can explain psychological phenomena to courts or administrative agencies, intervene with individuals and families at various junctures in the social and justice systems, and provide assessment and treatment for both victims and offenders. In addition to strong generalist training acquired by all students in the program, students who select this emphasis receive training in an additional competency (i.e., Forensic Research and Practice) focused on training clinicians to apply the principles of clinical psychology in the legal arena. Specifically, students will engage in forensically-focused research, experiential training, and coursework. Students will complete the program with the basic preparation they need to pursue postdoctoral specialty training and legally relevant clinical psychology research.


Faculty

Our faculty are nationally and internationally known researchers within forensic psychology with clinical and scholarly expertise in this domain. Students in the Forensic Clinical Emphasis receive close mentoring and supervision from forensically-oriented faculty in all aspects related to their academic and clinical training.

Please see our Meet the Faculty page for more information on specific faculty members, including who is open to accepting students for the upcoming academic year.


Research

Students in the Forensic Clinical Emphasis conduct research related to issues in forensic psychology. Below is just a sampling of the many topics examined in our recent students’ research related to Forensic Psychology:

  • Reliability and validity of forensic and risk assessment instruments
  • Evaluator biases in forensic assessment
  • Competency for immigration proceedings
  • Factors related to sexual offender recidivism
  • Suicide among adults on probation
  • Psychopathy
  • Treatment of female sexual offenders
  • Expert testimony
  • Neuropsychological profiles of offenders
  • Forensic Assessment of Latinx defendants
  • Psychiatric diagnoses and adjudicative competence abilities
  • Prevalence of intellectual disability (ID) among adjudicative competence examinees, along with associated outcomes
  • Decision-making regarding inclusion of prejudicial vs. prejudicial information in forensic evaluations
  • Psychological testing in forensic assessment (i.e., prevalence, types of tests, convergence of results, psychometrics, score variability, etc.)


    • Clinical Training

    As a requirement of our Forensic Assessment I course, students must conduct a forensic assessment (e.g., competency to stand trial, mental state at time of offense) under the supervision of a faculty member. Our practicum training includes the opportunity to work in various adult and juvenile settings with forensic populations, including local jails, juvenile detention, adult and juvenile probation, sex offender treatment, and state hospitals with insanity acquittees and incompetent defendants. Many students go on to complete numerous forensic assessments with adults and juveniles through our Psychological Services Center—at the clinic and in correctional facilities—before leaving for internship.


    Coursework

  • Forensic Assessment I (required)
  • Forensic Assessment II (required)
  • Mental Health Law (required)
  • Law and Social Psychology (elective)