08 Mar Guide to Forensic Psychology Court Reports

Preparing court reports is an important skill for forensic psychologists – and is a key service offered by Cathartic Consulting. However, the role of the forensic psychologist in writing court reports is widely misunderstood. With this in mind, we have put together this handy infographic to illustrate the steps involved in preparing a court report for forensic psychologists.

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Steps involved in Court Reports

The applicant (litigant, offender, victim, Government body, community organisation etc.) will need to provide the legal question to be assessed. For example this may involve commenting on:

• Risk of reoffending
• Criminal sentencing recommendations
• Parenting capacity
• Competency assessment
• Mental health pathology
• Impact to victim

The forensic psychologist will then typically review collateral data, conduct a clinical interview with the relevant parties, administer relevant psychometric tools and then compile a report which speaks to the specific legal question(s) requested.