Forensic Assessments Services
Diminished Capacity Evaluations
Diminished capacity, like insanity, are legal definitions as opposed to medical diagnoses. A diminished capacity evaluation attempts to determine whether a defendant had sufficient ability to form the necessary intent to commit a crime or if a mental impairment existed that limited this ability.
Violence Risk Assessments
Violence Risk Assessments use both clinical and actuarial models to determine the threat of violence. Forensic psychologists determine this threat by looking at certain risk factors, conducting specific psychological tests, studying collateral information and understanding personality, symptoms and environmental factors that all play a part in the assessment.
Psychosexual Evaluations / Risk Assessment for Adults
Psychosexual Evaluations use face-to-face in-depth interviews as well as specific testing to assist in determining recidivism among sexual offenders. These evaluations help determine appropriate treatment plans that take into account diagnosis, potential threat to the community, extent of contact with minors or internet use and recommended levels of community supervision.
Psychosexual Evaluations for Children
This specialized assessment often includes interviews; review of records, and in some cases psychological testing. The goals of such an assessment is to identify and describe behavior and patterns of sexualized actions that are problematic, to help differentiate between problematic and expected sexual development. In some cases this is used to establish the level of risk that the child/adolescent presents to other children/adolescents and the community, and/or to speak to the type of intervention most appropriate for the child/adolescent.
Substance Abuse Evaluations
A substance abuse evaluation involves determining which substances are involved and to what extent an individual is suffering from addiction. It includes an in-depth interview, personality tests, specific psychological tests (SASSI-4), behavioral observation and an examination of collateral material.
Neuropsychological Assessments
Neuro-Psychological assessments and evaluation seek to diagnose brain pathology by reviewing the results of imaging techniques and through specific psychological tests. The testing methods used can acquire data about a subject’s cognitive, motor, behavioral, linguistic and executive functioning. Some common neuropsychological assessment tools include intellectual functioning exams, language processing, visuospatial processing and attention/concentration testing. In addition to testing, a neuro-psychological assessment takes into account collateral information, behavioral observations, clinical interview and all available medical, academic and mental health records.
Parenting/Child Custody Evaluations
Parenting evaluations attempt to assess the skill level of each parent in order to ensure the safety and well-being under the care of that person
Treatment Recommendations
For each of the forensic services offered, a specific treatment recommendation and plan are also given.