Forensic psychology
Assignment 2: RA 1: Legal Requirements
The insanity defense is as old as it is controversial. There are times when insanity truly applies and times when it is not easy to determine. In either case, the documentation of services provided to these clients is typically heavily scrutinized by attorneys since documentation is the primary means used by courts to measure insanity as it meets legal standards. This assignment will allow you to examine the legal standards for insanity in your jurisdiction in addition to the requirements for the documentation of services provided to these individuals.
Tasks:
Search your state and regulatory boards, professional associations, state psychology boards, and state psychological associations. Use resources from professional literature to support your response. Professional literature may include relevant textbooks; peer-reviewed journal articles; and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu, .org, and .gov).
Write a 3- to 4-page paper, including the following:
- What are the legal requirements in your jurisdiction regarding the documentation of services provided by a forensic psychology professional? If not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity (NGRI) and guilty-but-mentally-ill (GBMI) evaluations are not recognized by your jurisdiction, review the legal requirements in a jurisdiction where they are the standard.
- What are the specific laws and rules regarding the documentation of psychological services?
- What are the differences between the requirements for clinical work and the requirements for forensic work, if any?
- What standards are used in your jurisdiction for an insanity plea?
- Do the insanity standards identify mental disease or defect with any exclusions, such as substance use? Explain.
- How do the standards in your jurisdiction contrast with the standards presented in your course textbooks?
- Do the insanity laws specify the presence of cognitive or volitional impairment as a threshold requirement to meet insanity? Provide brief examples.
Submission Details:
- Save your paper as M3_A2_Lastname_Firstname.doc. By Wednesday, May 17, 2017, post it to the M3 Assignment 2 RA 1 Dropbox.
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Maximum Points
Identified and explained the legal requirements in your jurisdiction regarding the documentation of services provided by a forensic psychology professional.
60
Identified and described the specific laws and rules in your jurisdiction regarding the insanity standard.
60
Differentiated between the requirements for clinical work and the requirements for forensic work.
44
Provided examples and references and followed APA guidelines for writing and citing in-text references.
24
Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
12
Total:
200
Answer Preview
Forensic psychology is a field that is slowly gaining its way into the legal field. By definition, it is simply the manner in which clinical skills or specialties are applied in the area of law. Other institutions define it broadly by stating how it uses research and expertise such as assessment, evaluation and interviewing in the areas of psychology and law. Forensic psychology has been…
(921 Words)