Evidence for Forensic Mental Health Professionals

7 Hours | 7 CEs

This on-demand professional training program on Evidence for Forensic Mental Health Professionals is presented by David DeMatteo, JD, PhD, ABPP.

This program focuses on legal concepts for forensic mental health professionals. After providing a primer on the structure of the United States court system, this program address legal concepts commonly encountered by forensic mental health professionals in both criminal and civil legal contexts, including admissibility standards for expert evidence, the legal foundation of expert testimony, discovery, expert reliance on inadmissible evidence (e.g., hearsay), responding to subpoenas, protecting test security (e.g., protective orders), ethics and professionalism, best-practice standards related to cross-examination, expert immunity, and diversity-related considerations.

The program includes discussion of governing case law (e.g., Daubert, Frye), various rules of evidence (e.g., Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure), and applicable ethical/practice guidance (e.g., Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology).

This program is intended for forensic mental health clinicians (psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers) at all stages of their careers. The training is most useful for mental health professionals who conduct forensic mental health assessments in criminal and/or civil areas, and it is relevant to forensic mental health professionals in a variety of settings (e.g., private practice, correctional facility).

Training Outline:

• Legal primer (basics of the U.S. legal system)
• Roles of experts in legal proceedings
• Rules of evidence that govern the recognition of experts & admissibility of expert evidence
• Reliance on inadmissible evidence (e.g., hearsay)
• Responding to subpoenas
• Discovery (e.g., protecting test security)
• Strategies for experts during testimony
• Expert immunity