The Forensic Psychology Industry...
Learn about Forensic Psychology fields and careers in this growing industry...
Stories of criminals and their motives always provide fascination and intrigue. Throw in a courtroom scene and expert testimony from a psychologist, and the dramas become suspenseful plots for television series and movies.
Expert witnesses and other professionals employed in the field of Forensic Psychology live out these dramas firsthand in a wide variety of career options that require both an understanding of the legal framework and its intersection with psychology. Courtroom issues addressed by expert witnesses often center on brainwashing, criminal profiling, capital punishment, child custody, juvenile delinquency and the insanity defense.
In an April 2008 article in Monitor on Psychology, Psychologist and Criminal Justice Professor Alan M. Goldstein said that "forensic psychology is a booming area." He stated that practice areas within this specialty keep emerging, including assessing and managing workplace and school violence, assessing and evaluating clergy abuse, elder abuse and cases dealing with end-of-life issues.
Forensic Psychology Links
Forensic psychology professionals assess and evaluate clients on behalf of lawyers, social service agencies and judges. They also design programs for both juveniles or adults that are incarcerated or recently released. Psychology professionals who eventually become expert witnesses usually begin their careers working with mentors or supervisors in a variety of settings, including clinics, prisons, government agencies and schools.
Steven N. Shapse, a forensic psychologist from Lincoln, Mass., says that working in forensic psychology requires the ability to integrate knowledge from almost every field of psychology. It also involves keeping up with volumes of psychological research to stay current with new findings.
Forensic psychology differs significantly from other areas of psychology, according to Shapse, a psychologist with over 20 years as a forensic expert, psychometrist and child custody evaluator. Similar to investigators trying to piece together a puzzle, those in forensic psychology gather a complete psychological history of a client by questioning family members, relatives, and other therapists - which is what Shapse really enjoys about the field.
It's more fact-based; it's more concrete because you do psychological testing," he says. "It's also more of a challenge because the client sitting before you can actually distract you from finding out what's really going on.
Shapse explains that, unlike those working in the Clinical Psychology field who usually don't question the client's veracity, those in forensic psychology must dig to get viewpoints from many people and other professionals. "When you get 360 degree feedback, the picture changes, it becomes more whole. "
And while doing this type of psychological investigative work, Shapse says, forensic psychology professionals must keep their own opinions and biases out of the analysis.
One of the requirements for those interested in a forensic psychology career is to be a "life-long learner," Shapse says. He also says that those interested in the testing and assessing processes will enjoy a career in forensic psychology.
If you are intrigued with the criminal mind, and you enjoy learning about the intersection of law and psychology, you should consider a career in forensic psychology. Usually a master's degree or PhD is required to work in this field.
Some institutions offer a forensic psychology degree. However, students majoring in clinical, social, cognitive, criminal investigative, and developmental psychology also can pursue a forensic psychology specialty.
Find out how you can become involved, request information from schools offering Psychology degree programs. Also, learn more about the psychology career licensing processes and what the requirements for licensure are: Psychology Career Licensure.