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Goldenson J, Josefowitz N. Remote Forensic Psychological Assessment in Civil Cases: Considerations for Experts Assessing Harms from Early Life Abuse. PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURY & LAW 2021; 14:89-103. [PMID: 33758640 PMCID: PMC7970781 DOI: 10.1007/s12207-021-09404-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the question of whether psycho-legal assessments can be executed remotely in a manner that adheres to the rigorous standards applied during in-person assessments. General guidelines have evolved, but to date, there are no explicit directives about whether and how to proceed. This paper reviews professional, ethical, and legal challenges that experts should consider before conducting such an evaluation remotely. Although the discussion is more widely applicable, remote forensic psychological assessment of adults alleging childhood abuse is used as an example throughout, due to the complexity of these cases, the ethical dilemmas they can present, and the need to carefully assess non-verbal trauma-related symptoms. The use of videoconferencing technology is considered in terms of potential benefits of this medium, as well as challenges this method could pose to aspects of interviewing and psychometric testing. The global pandemic is also considered with respect to its effects on functioning and mental health and the confounding impact such a crisis has on assessing the relationship between childhood abuse and current psychological functioning. Finally, for those evaluators who want to engage in remote assessment, practice considerations are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Goldenson
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Behaviour, Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S1V6 Canada
| | - Nina Josefowitz
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Behaviour, Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S1V6 Canada
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Raharjanti NW, Wiguna T, Purwadianto A, Soemantri D, Bardosono S, Poerwandari EK, Mahajudin MS, Ramadianto AS, Alfonso CA, Findyartini A, Nugrahadi NR, Lazuardi MQ, Subroto PAM, Saroso OJDA, Levania MK. Clinical Reasoning in Forensic Psychiatry: Concepts, Processes, and Pitfalls. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:691377. [PMID: 34421677 PMCID: PMC8374734 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.691377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Forensic psychiatrists are often sought by the court of law to provide professional opinion on specific legal matters that have a major impact on the evaluee and possibly society at large. The quality of that opinion and recommendations rely on the quality of the analysis from the assessment results conducted by the psychiatrist. However, the definition and scope of a forensic psychiatric analysis is not clear. While existing literature on forensic psychiatric analysis generally includes organizing information, identifying relevant details, and formulating a set of forensic psychiatric opinions as components, there is no explicit and unified definition of these terms and process. This lack of clarity and guidelines may hinder forensic psychiatry from achieving its goal of providing objective information to the court or other relevant parties. Forensic psychiatric analysis exhibits numerous parallels to clinical reasoning in other fields of medicine. Therefore, this review aims to elaborate forensic psychiatric analysis through the lens of clinical reasoning, which has been developed by incorporating advances in cognitive sciences. We describe forensic psychiatric analysis through three prominent clinical reasoning theories: hypothetico-deductive model, illness script theory, and dual process theory. We expand those theories to elucidate how forensic psychiatrists use clinical reasoning not only to diagnose mental disorders, but also to determine mental capacities as requested by law. Cognitive biases are also described as potential threat to the accuracy of the assessment and analysis. Additionally, situated cognition theory helps elucidate how contextual factors influence risk of errors. Understanding the processes involved in forensic psychiatric analysis and their pitfalls can assist forensic psychiatrists to be aware of and try to mitigate their bias. Debiasing strategies that have been implemented in other fields of medicine to mitigate errors in clinical reasoning can be adapted for forensic psychiatry. This may also shape the training program of general psychiatrists and forensic psychiatrists alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Widiasih Raharjanti
- Doctoral Program in Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.,Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Tjhin Wiguna
- Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Agus Purwadianto
- Department of Forensic and Medicolegal, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Diantha Soemantri
- Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Saptawati Bardosono
- Department of Nutrition, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | | | | | - Adhitya Sigit Ramadianto
- Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - César A Alfonso
- Doctoral Program in Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.,Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Ardi Findyartini
- Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Nadia Rahmadiani Nugrahadi
- Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Muhammad Qolby Lazuardi
- Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Priscilla Aya Maheswari Subroto
- Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | | | - Monika Kristi Levania
- Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
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