El-Shenawy OE, J Forensic Leg Investig Sci 2017, 3: 020 DOI: 10.24966/FLIS-733X/100020 HSOA Journal of Forensic, Legal & Investigative Sciences Review Article mental health professionals such as psychologist or psychiatrist, this Traditional Psychological Tests assessment is different from other assessments conducted for thera- peutic purposes such as treatment planning and diagnosis, which will Usage in Forensic Assessment be discussed in the next section [2-5]. Omnia E El-Shenawy* Differences between Forensic Assessment and Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Menofia University, Shebeen Therapeutic Assessment El-Koom, Egypt Heibrun and his colleagues determined differences between forensic assessment and therapeutic assessment in many as- pects as following: The first differences has to do with the purposes of each of them, while the primary purpose of forensic assessment as mentioned before is to provide the legal decision-maker by in- formation about an individual’s relevant capacities underlying Abstract the specific civil (e.g., child custody, personal injury) or crim- inal (e.g., competence to stand trial, sanity at the time of the Several survey studies have been conducted on traditional psy- offense) legal question. Therapeutic evaluation, by contrast, is chological tests usage in different forensic settings, and they have usually conducted for diagnosis and treatment reasons [5,6]. indicated consistently that psychological tests play an important role in most forensic evaluations. However, there are both advantages The second difference between the two types of assess- and disadvantages of this utilization. The forensic evaluator should ments concerns with the nature of the examiner-examinee take into account a set of standards for the selection, administration, relationship. In forensic assessment, the psychologist or the and interpretation of psychological tests in forensic assessment. psychiatrist plays an objective role or quasi- objective role in Keywords: Clinical assessment; Forensic assessment; Psychologi- data collection and documentation, he or she concerns with ob- cal assessment; Psychological tests jectivity and accuracy. While the role of the psychologist or the psychiatrist in therapeutic assessment is a helping role, he or Introduction she concerns with the person being evaluated [5]. Psychological assessment is a process of gathering and integration The standards used in forensic and therapeutic assessment of psychology - related data to make a psychological evaluation by are different. Standards in therapeutic assessment help in di- using tools such as tests, interviews, case studies, behavioral observa- agnosis and treatment, and serve organizing, condensing, and tion, and specially designed apparatus and measurement procedures. orienting functions. While the forensic assessment include In general, the process of assessment begins with a referral for assess- both clinical and legal standards. For example, when the eval- ment from a source such as a teacher, a school psychologist, a coun- uator is asked to consider the relation between the underlying selor, a judge, a clinician, or a corporate human resources specialist, mental, emotional, and cognitive deficits and a variety of legal in order to answer one or more referral questions, solve a problem, or issues, such as sentencing considerations, competencies, or arrive at a decision through the use of tools of evaluation [1]. criminal responsibility [5]. Psychological assessment can help in understanding psychologi- The fourth significant difference between the two types cal and mental health status of individuals who are caught up in the of assessment concerns with the sources of information used legal process, assessment can cover depression, substance abuse, in each. Both of them rely on clinical data and psychosocial competency, criminal intent, dangerousness, parental fitness, and information through the utilization of self-report measures, intelligence, and the purpose of psychological assessment in foren- psychological testing, and behavioral assessment. Unlike the sic setting (e.g., juvenile justice programs, correctional institutions, therapeutic assessment, these sources are not sufficient for fo- and non-correctional settings in which therapy services are provided rensic assessment. More information is needed through the use to forensic populations such as abuse and crime victims) is to assist of collateral information (e.g., document review, interviews) legal-decision maker, by providing him with clinical and scientific to assess the accuracy and consistency of gathered information data gathered from psychological evaluations that are performed by by self-reports [6]. *Corresponding author: Omnia E El-Shenawy, Department of Psychology, Fac- ulty of Arts, Menofia University, Shebeen El-Koom, Egypt, Tel: +20 482221987; Individuals who are evaluated through forensic assessment +20 502542030; E-mail: [email protected] have a lot of reasons to give inaccurate information. For ex- ample, some people may over-estimate their parent skills to Citation: El-Shenawy OE (2017) Traditional Psychological Tests Usage in Fo- rensic Assessment. J Forensic Leg Investig Sci 3: 020. obtain custody of their children, while others may exaggerate mental health problems in order to avoid criminal responsibil- Received: September 14, 2017; Accepted: December 2, 2017; Published: De- ity or to obtain monetary gain in personal injury cases, While cember 18, 2017 Citation: El-Shenawy OE (2017) Traditional Psychological Tests Usage in Forensic Assessment. J Forensic Leg Investig Sci 3: 020. • Page 2 of 5 • in most therapeutic evaluation cases, there is usually limited Forensic Assessment Instruments (FAIs), Forensically Relevant In- expectation about the possibility that the individual being eval- struments (FRIs), and Clinical Assessment Instruments (CAIs) [4,9]. uated will deliberately (through exaggeration or minimization) distort the nature of symptoms or experiences [5,7]. Purpose Forensic assessment Therapeutic assessment Helping legal decision- Another difference between the therapeutic assessment and Diagnosis and treatment the forensic assessment has to do with the clarification of rea- maker Examiner-examinee Objective or quasi Helping role soning and the limits on knowledge. In therapeutic assessment, relationship objective role there is little expectation that the assumptions and methods Clinical and legal Standards Clinical standards used to complete the evaluation will be challenged, because standards therapeutic evaluation relies on the training, theoretical orien- Clinical, psychosocial, Clinical and psychosocial Source of information tation, professional expertise, and knowledge of the evaluator. and collateral information information Clarification of Unlike the therapeutic evaluation, forensic evaluation is con- Expectation to be No expectation to be reasoning and the limits ducted in an adversarial legal context, and is subject to chal- challenged challenged on knowledge lenge through rules of evidence or by cross-examination by No identified expectation about Documentation and opposing counsel [6]. Evaluation report tend to the structure, format, level communication of be lengthy and detailed of detail, and content of the results Documentation and communication of results is another evaluation report difference between therapeutic assessment and forensic as- Verbal communication High expectation to No expectation to testify as an about the evaluation testify as an expert sessment. In therapeutic evaluation, there is no identified ex- expert witness pectation about the structure, format, level of detail, and con- results witness Psychometric Theoretical orientation, tent of the written report needed to document such evaluation. considerations (normative Assessment base assessment approaches of the The reverse is true in forensic assessment, forensic evaluation data, reliability, validity, practitioner reports tend to be lengthy and detailed due to the legal referral and sensitivity) questions that require more information about the procedures, Table 1: Differences between forensic assessment and therapeutic assessment. findings, and reasoning used in the assessment, and that has to do with the expectation that the assumptions and methods used FAIs are specifically designed to directly assess psycho-legal in the evaluation will be challenged [5,6]. constructs or capacities such as criminal defendant’s competence to Also there is an important distinction between the two type stand trial or an older person’s ability to manage legal, financial and of assessment in light of verbal communication about the eval- health care matters. Examples for FAIs are MacArthur competence uation results. The likelihood that the therapeutic evaluator assessment tool-criminal adjudication and the competence screening will give an expert witness in legal issues is rare. While the fo- test [4,10]. While FAIs focus on psycho-legal constructs, FRIs focus rensic evaluator should always testify as an expert witness and on clinical constructs that are sometimes pertinent to legal context. that testimony would be associated with the assessment, the Examples of FRIs include those used to assess malingering and “test forensic evaluator as an expert witness have to explain clear- taking set”, recidivism, violence risk, and psychopathy [4]. The last ly to the trier of fact (often a jury, in some cases the judge) category include CAIs which refer to standard psychological