Tens of thousands of readers have relied on this leading text and practitioner reference--now revised and updated--to understand the issues the legal system most commonly asks mental health professionals to address. Highly readable, the volume demystifies the forensic psychological assessment process and provides guidelines for participating effectively and ethically in legal proceedings. Presented are clinical and legal concepts and evidence-based assessment procedures pertaining to criminal and civil competencies, the insanity defense and related doctrines, sentencing, civil commitment, personal injury claims, antidiscrimination laws, child custody, juvenile justice, and other justice-related areas. Case examples, exercises, and a glossary facilitate learning; 19 sample reports illustrate how to conduct and write up thorough, legally admissible evaluations. New to This Edition *Extensively revised to reflect important legal, empirical, and clinical developments. *Increased attention to medical and neuroscientific research. *New protocols relevant to competence, risk assessment, child custody, and mental injury evaluations. *Updates on insanity, sentencing, civil commitment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Social Security, juvenile and family law, and the admissibility of expert testimony. *Material on immigration law (including a sample report) and international law. *New and revised sample reports.

This is the definitive reference and text for both mental health and legal professionals. The authors offer a uniquely comprehensive discussion of the legal and clinical contexts of forensic assessment, along with best-practice guidelines for participating effectively and ethically in a wide range of criminal and civil proceedings. Presented are findings, instruments, and procedures related to criminal and civil competencies, civil commitment, sentencing, personal injury claims, antidiscrimination laws, child custody, juvenile justice, and more.

This is the definitive reference and text for both mental health and legal professionals. The authors offer a uniquely comprehensive discussion of the legal and clinical contexts of forensic assessment, along with best-practice guidelines for participating effectively and ethically in a wide range of criminal and civil proceedings. Presented are findings, instruments, and procedures related to criminal and civil competencies, civil commitment, sentencing, personal injury claims, antidiscrimination laws, child custody, juvenile justice, and more.

Considered the definitive resource and text on forensic psychiatry and psychology since the publication of the first edition, Psychological Evaluations for the Courts, Second Edition, continues to be the most comprehensive discussion of legal, research, and clinical issues for both mental health and legal professionals. Fully revised and updated, the volume covers a broad range of topics in forensic mental health, including insanity, child abuse, sentencing, personal injury claims, and civil commitment. Less traditional subjects such as federal antidiscrimination and entitlement laws, competency to testify, workers' compensation, and a new section on the clinical evaluation of witness credibility have also been added. Throughout, the authors summarize and analyze legal issues, offer suggestions for evaluation procedures, and review appropriate research on both clinical opinions and the legal process. New to the Second Edition Completely updated to reflect current research and practice, the volume contains four entirely new chapters and has been revised throughout to include analyses of new case law and clinical techniques; important research on competency and dangerousness from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Mental Health and Law; and new ethical rules developed by the American Psychological Assocation and the American Psychiatric Association. Also new to this edition are exercises and case studies for students in each chapter (see below).

This definitive reference offers a uniquely comprehensive discussion of the legal and clinical contexts of forensic assessment, along with best-practice guidelines for participating effectively and ethically in a wide range of criminal and civil proceedings. Extensively revised edition analyzes recent legal developments concerning the admissibility of expert testimony, the insanity defense, sexual predators, the death penalty, outpatient commitment, medication refusal, juvenile justice, antidiscrimination laws, special education laws, and more. It also presents new empirical findings and instruments related to risk assessment, criminal and civil competencies, child custody, and feigning mental illness.

"A handbook for mental health professionals and lawyers."--T.p.

Emotionally charged issues abound in matrimonial practice, especially in custody disputes. Expert testimony can have a dramatic impact on the outcome of a case, and when matters are highly sensitive or sensational the seeming objectivity of an expert can be dispositive. To effectively reinforce or question that testimony, certain specialized knowledge is essential. Scientifically accepted standards and theories are constantly evolving. Keeping up with the data had been a challenge, but one integrated resource has made it simple. Aspen Publishers’ Psychological Experts in Divorce Actions pulls all the research together into the definitive guide to understanding the role of psychological evaluations in divorce and custody actions. Focused on providing the best approach to protecting your client’s interests, this work explains all the leading testing instruments,what conclusions may be drawn and how to challenge or support those conclusions. In addition to offering effective examination and cross-examination strategies, it assists you in handling the gamut of psychological factors that affect clients in divorce and custody cases. Authors Marc J. Ackerman, Ph.D ., and Andrew W. Kane, Ph.D ., are licensed psychologists who have been involved in hundreds of custody cases. Drawing on their extensive experience—testing parties to a divorce and treating psychological patients in the clinic—and as psychological experts in the courtroom, they identify the most important psychological evaluation research used in divorce and custody decision-making and distill the information into clear terms lawyers can readily apply.They also examine vital issues including: Ethics —confidentiality, privilege, duty to warn or protect (Tarasoff), sharing raw data, test integrity Sexual abuse —bona fide or fabricated allegations, psychological effects of sexual abuse, profiles of abuser and abused Testing —personality tests (including MMPI-2, And The new MMPI-2-RF, Rorschach,Millon,TAT); intelligence tests (Wechsler scales,Kaufman scales, Stanford Binet); custody tests (ASPECT, PCRI, PASS, BPS); and many more How divorce affects families —custody, placement, age and gender differences, grandparents, sexual preference, psychological problems