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Identifying and Avoiding “Junk Science” in Forensic Psychological Assessments

Register | $100 USD Purchase for a Group
Presented By Tess M.S Neal, PhD
Tess M.S Neal, PhD

1 Hour | 1 CE

This on-demand professional training program on Identifying and Avoiding “Junk Science” in Forensic Psychological Assessments is presented by Tess M.S Neal, PhD.

This program covers the concept of “junk science” and how justice systems have tried to cope with this problem of separating pseudoscientific evidence from sound evidence, screening the former out, and allowing the latter in via evidence admissibility rules. Dr. Neal closely examines why this task is so challenging for courts and how these issues apply to forensic mental health evidence in particular. Specifically, this program covers in detail the results of a two-part investigation of psychological assessments by psychologists in legal contexts.

The first part involves a systematic review of the 364 psychological assessment tools psychologists report having used in legal cases across 22 surveys of experienced forensic mental health practitioners, focusing on legal standards and scientific and psychometric theory. Results from the first part reveal wide variation in quality.

The second part is a legal analysis of admissibility challenges with regard to psychological assessments. Results from the second part show that courts are not well-calibrating this variation in quality, and courts often fail to exercise the scrutiny required by law.

There is a discussion on why and how this problem is not unique to mental health evidence and what courts are doing to try to address this problem. For instance, the US Federal Rules of Evidence guiding the admission of expert testimony just changed on December 1, 2023. This program discusses this change and what it means for forensic mental health experts and ends with coverage of several free high-quality resources available to mental health experts to improve the quality of forensic assessment practice.

This program can help advance a person's career by knowing more about how to be better at assessment, how to evaluate the quality of other people's assessments, and overall can improve the quality of their work and the field. This program is uniquely valuable because this is the only work being done on this topic, and the program is one of a kind. This program is intended for all professionals in any stage of their career; any specialty area, and any environment involving law and mental health.

Program Outline

  • Introduction to the use of mental health assessments in legal settings with case examples
  • Overview of forensic psychology within the field of psychology
  • Discussion on expert gatekeeping and courts' efforts to filter out pseudoscience
  • Importance of identifying solid science/expert evidence for courts and justice systems
  • Detailed analysis of a high-profile project on the validity and admissibility of forensic psychological assessments in the US
  • Evidence of courts allowing in evidence regardless of quality
  • A broader issue of quality variation in mental health evidence not unique to the US
  • Actions by courts and societies to address the issue of evidence quality
  • Recent change to US evidence law effective Dec 1, 2023, on admissibility of expert evidence
  • Conclusion with resources for improving the quality of psych assessment evidence

Intended Audience

This on-demand professional training program is intended for mental health and other allied professionals

Experience Level

This on-demand professional training program is appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level clinicians.

CE / CPD Credit

APA, ASWB, CPA, NBCC Click here for state and other regional board approvals.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program you will be able to:

Describe the criteria the law uses to identify junk science by expert witnesses

Describe the average scientific validity of assessment tools used by psychologists as evidence in court

Describe how calibrated courts are to the scientific validity of psychological assessment tools offered in expert evidence

Describe free high-quality resources for improving forensic psychological assessment practice

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Presented By

Tess M.S Neal, PhD

Tess M.S. Neal, PhD is an associate professor of psychology and serves as a Dean’s Professor at Iowa State University. Before moving to Iowa in Fall 2023, she was tenured at Arizona State University, where she was the founding director of the Future of Forensic Science Initiative. She is a scientist...

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Curriculum

1. Program Introduction

2. Systematic Analysis of Psychological Assessment Tools Used in Court

3. Case Law Analysis: Are Courts Scrutinizing Psychological Assessment Evidence?

4. The Fulbright Project and What Can Be Done

Develop a Specialty Area of Practice

Transforming mental health professionals into experts

Expert Instructors

Professional training developed and delivered by the field's leading experts

CE Credit

Earn CE credit for meaningful professional training that will elevate your practice

Convenience & Flexibility

Learn at your own pace, from wherever you might be!