Forensic psychology
Forensic psychologyForensic psychology is something that I have been interested in for quite some time; for an explanation of what forensic psychology is here is a broad explanation from Dr. Joseph Davis, "Forensics literally translated from Latin means "in the
forum". A place to argue, to debate and to render an opinion regarding such facts. (Swenson) Our forum today is what we call the courtroom. The Trier of Fact is the Jury (they listen to the arguments in the forum and are given guidance about legal rules and principles as interpreted by the judge)."
Forensics, as a practitioner, is any acceptable scientific application of methods, procedures, techniques, to the resolution of problems at law (can be civil or criminal or other)" ("The Page"). So to put it simply forensic psychology is just the combination of law and psychology.
Forensic Psychology is a relatively new, but fast growing, field of clinical psychology. ("An analysis") The jobs of clinicians in this field vary greatly, but all areas deal with some interaction of psychology and the law. For this reason, the field is often referred to as Criminal Psychology. Forensic psychologists are most known for working in the courts but they can also work in work in a penal institution, state mental hospitals, law enforcement agencies, or a private practice (The Page").
Forensic psychologists also provide treatment services. These include counseling for adults and children involved in divorce proceedings and anger management counseling ("Psychology Information Online" 1998).
Forensic psychologists help a lot with family issues. Some examples of the services for the family court cases are: child custody evaluations, visitation risk assessment, evaluations to access termination of parental rights, adoption readiness evaluations ("Forensic Psychological Evaluations").
Forensic counseling for anger management usually occurs in child abuse, domestic violence or assault cases. When a parent has been found to lose control with a child, the parent will be required to receive anger control counseling as a condition of contact with the child ("Psychology Information Online" 1998).
After a domestic violence incident, the perpetrator will usually be required to enter counseling to acknowledge responsibility for the aggressive acts, and to learn how to maintain control when angry (DeGue, Sarah). Assault often results from uncontrolled impulses, and those charged or convicted can benefit from counseling ("An analysis").
In the penal system, Forensic psychologists play a small, but important role. They do psychological treatment of inmates who have severe depression or other disorders which may cause them to be a danger to themselves or others (DeGue, Sarah). This helps the inmates a lot but most do not want to cooperate. Also, these psychologists...
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