Teaching Decision-Making and Reasoning in Forensic Supervision
4 Hours | 4 CEs
This on-demand professional training program on Teaching Decision-Making and Reasoning in Forensic Supervision is presented by Sarah Miller, PhD, ABPP, and Terry Kukor, PhD, ABPP.
How do we learn to make decisions and reason about data in the context of forensic mental health assessment (FMHA)? In this program, we address the core question about how to teach someone to think critically in the context of FMHA. Critical thinking skills are about the ability to receive, collect, and analyze information effectively, which we apply to both decision-making and reasoning.
Decision-making refers to the range of decisions in conducting FMHA, ranging from in-the-moment determinations about what to write down in an interview to larger decisions about what collateral data to request. Reasoning refers to determinations we make about what the data means in terms of the legal issue or capacity being addressed.
This program is intended for two groups: 1) those who either receive or provide supervision of FMHA services, and 2) those who wish to sharpen their skills related to tactical decision-making and reasoning in FHMA.
Program Outline:
- Teaching decision-making about data acquisition
- a. Collateral information: what to request, how to review it
- b. Clinical interviewing: ensuring understanding of notification of purpose, leading questions, expressed empathy, making decisions about what to write in our notes
- c. Mental Status: standardized or contextual?
- d. FAI/Psychological testing: how and when to decide if useful for a specific case
- e. Report writing: deciding what data from our notes, collateral, and testing are used in the report
- Teaching reasoning
- a. What is reasoning?
- b. The component parts of reasoning
- c. Common errors associated with reasoning
- d. Connecting evidence to inference in opinion-formation
- e. Detecting and mitigating bias
- f. How to maximize objectivity
- g. Key principles of critical thinking for report-writing
Looking for Impact? This program reassures employers of participants that they have received supervision-specific training in decision-making and reasoning.
Program Value: For those forensic professionals either providing or receiving supervision, this program provides unique content about tactical decision-making and reasoning in FMHA that, to our knowledge, is not addressed elsewhere.
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 how to teach strategies for making decisions about data acquisition as it relates to requesting collateral information, clinical interviewing, and report writing
Describe how one can apply Linear Sequential Unmasking to data review strategies
Describe ways to review common errors, and strategies for minimizing them, in the reasoning process
Describe ways to teach and model concrete strategies for opinion formation that minimize bias and maximize objectivity
Presented By
Terry Kukor, PhD, ABPP
Terry Kukor, Ph.D., ABPP, is board-certified in forensic psychology, and is a Senior Forensic Psychologist at the Netcare Forensic Center. Dr. Kukor has specialized in criminal forensic evaluation for more than 30 years, during which time he has also done violence risk and threat assessment. He teac...
Presented By
Sarah Miller, PhD, ABPP
Sarah Miller, PhD, ABPP is board certified in forensic psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. She is the Director of Maine’s State Forensic Service and the Training Director for the University of Maine Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology. She conducts criminal forens...
Curriculum
1. Program Introduction
2. Improving Decision-Making: Bias, Review Methods, and Applying LSU-E to FMHA
3. Comprehensive Data Acquisition and Synthesis: Clinical Interviews, Psychological Testing, and Report Writing
4. Cultivating Critical Thinking: Reasoning, Errors, and Preventative Measures
5. Objectivity and Bias in Report Writing: Understanding, Detecting, and Mitigating Bias Using the CER Model
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