Cultural Considerations in Forensic Assessment
8 Hours | 8 CEs
This workshop on Cultural Considerations in Forensic Assessment is presented by Barry Rosenfeld, PhD, ABPP.
This workshop will cover a range of issues related to forensic assessment of individuals from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. The last decade has witnessed a surge in awareness of the inherent challenges when applying forensic evaluation techniques to individuals from a different culture. Indeed, the expectation that clinicians will maintain an adequate level of “cultural considerations” in both clinical practice and research has never been greater. This workshop incorporates the ever-growing research literature on culture and forensic assessment and culminates in a number of guidelines for “best practices.”
The workshop will begin with relevant background on the construct of “cultural co” and recent legal decisions that have addressed the importance of culturally-appropriate assessment techniques. The workshop topics will follow the timeline of a typical evaluation, with a review of issues and solutions that can be implemented prior to the evaluation begins, such as the role of pre-evaluation cultural research and adaptations to traditional procedures for eliciting consent. This will be followed by a review of issues and recommendations for conducting the interview itself, including selection and training of translators, identifying culturally unique symptoms or behaviors, and interpretation of observed behaviors and reported symptoms.
Finally, the workshop will focus on decision-making regarding psychological testing and the interpretation of test results. Relevant ethical issues related to cross-cultural forensic assessment will be integrated throughout the workshop, as appropriate. Case vignettes will be injected throughout the workshop to highlight relevant issues and techniques and elicit audience participation.