This post is from Attorney Edward A. (“Ted”) Bills who can be reached at  719.444.1000  or at   http://www.SpringsAttorney.com.

Anything provided on this blog is for informational purposes only and by no means constitutes an attorney-client relationship between a visitor and Attorney Ted Bills.  Any reader of this blog is urged to consult competent legal counsel regarding specific points of law and not construe any material transmitted via this blog as legal advice.

So What is a Forensic Psychologist?

The field of forensic psychology is the interface between psychology and the law. However, most forensic psychologists provide services which are both clinical and forensic in nature. When a psychologist treats an individual who was emotionally traumatized by an accident, the treatment is clinical in nature, designed to assist the individual in recovering from the trauma. But, when the psychologist is asked to provide a report for the court, regarding the extent of the trauma, and to assess the psychological damages incurred, then the psychologist is providing forensic services.

A forensic psychologist is a psychologist who, by virtue of training or experience (or both), is qualified to assist a court or other fact finder in arriving at a just or correct decision.

Our legal system requires that an individual accused of a crime be competent to stand trial. Further, even if an individual is competent to stand trial, he or she may have been suffering from a psychological disorder at the time the crime was committed. This could prevent an individual from forming intent to commit a crime; this is generally called diminished capacity.

Additionally, even if the individual is competent to stand trial, and was competent when the crime was committed, the presence of a psychological disorder may present a mitigating factor to be considered at sentencing. For all these reasons, psychological evaluations of criminal defendants are appropriate.

Psychological factors that are part of a defendant’s personality style and which predict a potential behavior pattern can be useful in establishing whether or not that individual was capable of committing the offense charged. The psychological assessment of sexual offenders can help determine disposition following sentencing, as well as in determining treatment needs to avoid recidivism.

Forensic psychologists often assist in a wide variety of civil matters as well. Examples would be lawsuits or insurance claims where emotional suffering is a part of the claim, where it is necessary to determine the competency of an aged or ill person to make decisions, cases where there is a question of whether a death was an accident or a “disguised suicide” in an insurance claim case, or in a wide variety of other areas.

To be a forensic psychologist one would first need a doctorate degree in psychology, often (but not necessarily) in clinical or counseling psychology.

Attorney Ted Bills has one mission – to fight for the rights of personal injury victims and those who have been devastated by the misconduct of others – he represents clients which an aggressive approach designed to provide SWIFT justice. Attorney Bills is a member of the American Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, and the El Paso County (Colorado Springs) Bar Association. He works in tandem with his clients to provide assertive, business-savvy, legal services that solve problems, reduce delays, and minimize costs.