Learning Forensic Assessment: (International Perspectives on Forensic Mental Health)

Providing an excellent resource for forensic psychology undergraduate students, this book offers students the opportunity to learn from experts, through the collection of outstanding articles. Unlike other books in the area that are topic specific, it also gives them comprehensive coverage of the subject. Divided into five broad topic areas, it covers: professional issues juvenile assessment criminal forensic assessment civil forensic assessment pervasive issues – malingering and psychopathy. Written by a group of internationally renowned contributors and including didactic information as well as providing discussions on practical issues regarding assessment and assessment instruments, this textbook will be invaluable reading for all students of forensic psychology.

Table of Contents:
Part I: Professional and Practice Issues. Training in Forensic Assessment and Intervention: Implications for Principles-based Models. Accessing and Understanding the Legal Literature. Ethical/Legal Issues in Forensic Practice. Part II: Adult Forensic Assessment. Competency to Stand Trial. Insanity Evaluations. The Clinical Assessment of Psychopathy. Violence Risk Assessment. Evaluations for the Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders. Forensic Psychology Evaluations at Capital Sentencing. Competency for Execution. Part III: Juvenile Forensic Assessment. The Capacity of Juveniles to Understand and Waive Arrest Rights. Assessing Adolescents’ Adjudicative Competence. Transfer to Adult Court. Assessing Child and Adolescent Psychopathy. Assessing Risk for Violence in Adolescents. Part IV: Civil Forensic Assessment. Child Custody Evaluations. Insurance and Social Security Disability Evaluations. Personal Injury Evaluations. Civil Commitment Evaluations. Part V: Communicating Your Findings. Writing Forensic Psychological Reports. Testifying in Court: Evidence-based Recommendations for Expert-witness Testimony.

About the Author :
Rebecca Jackson is Director of the Forensic Certification Program and Assistant Director of the Joint PhD / J.D. Program in Psychology and Law at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in Palo Alto, Calif. In 2004 she received the Director’s Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching, & Clinical Skill at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Review :
"I teach a course entitled 'Psychology and Law' which focuses almost exclusively on criminal and civil forensic assessment at Villanova University. In my experience, most of the existing forensic psychology textbooks (and, more broadly, the law-psychology textbooks) have limited utility for graduate students. The existing forensic psychology textbooks are written at a broad level, and they are more appropriate for survey courses in which students are exposed to a wide range of topics without much in-depth analysis. For graduate students who are studying forensic psychology, there is a need for texts that provide more thorough and in-depth coverage of select topics. Certainly, for students interested in pursuing a career in forensic psychology, a text focusing on the applied aspects of conducting forensic assessments would be quite valuable...I would adopt this book for my course." - David DeMatteo, Villanova University and University of Pennsylvania, USA "Forensic Assessment is taught every semester at the master's level (multiple sections) and once a year at the doctoral level at my school. There is clearly a need for this text." - Margaret Kovera, John Jay College