What does a forensic psychologist do? Forensic psychology is a branch of psychology, psychology deals with the mental processes underlying an individual who ultimately guide his behavior, so it can be inferred that forensic psychology is intended to evaluate an individual’s mental abilities in the judicial field.
The forensic psychologist will be the professional in charge of providing technical assistance to inspectors, judges, lawyers, etc. of psychological significance and its relationship with justice; his work aims to study the minds of people in relation to the system and the field of justice.
- The forensic psychologist participates in the various legal processes in which his presence is requested.
- Will be responsible for collecting the necessary information.
- Examining the individual.
- Preparing surveys.
- Etc.
- And finally present the evidence and results obtained.
- All this to answer.
- Questions posed by the judge.
The main function is to try to resolve the doubts of legal professionals, not all actors involved in a judicial process know all the social, relational, scientific fields, etc. , so they need specialists in each of these areas to help them clarify. important elements for proper case resolution.
We cannot forget that we live in an organic society: there is a large division of labor, people specialize in a certain area, but they need the knowledge of the rest of society, so a system of functional relationships is established between different professionals. Each person’s cooperation is based on the capabilities with which they can help meet each other’s needs.
The forensic psychologist, as we have already announced, is collaborating with the justice system, he is usually a professional associated with the criminal process, focusing on his criminal activities, however, there are many other areas where this is necessary:
The reports are documents prepared by experts in which the questions posed by the judge are answered and serve as expert evidence. The forensic psychologist should report when his opinion is requested in a court case.
The content of the report must be precise and specific, omitting all unnecessary details, i. e. it should be directed directly to the question of the subject, so its wording must be clear, avoiding using a very specific language.
It should not be forgotten that these kinds of documents will be issued to people who are not specialized in the world of psychology or in the scientific field, so we must not be extremely technical, because what we want to transmit may not be understood.
At the same time, we cannot escape the parameters of objectivity and scientific rigor, all psychological tests that have been carried out must be duly informed, their usefulness, the way they were performed, the results obtained, their reliability, etc. Highlighted.
Obviously, it will be necessary for the forensic psychologist to have a university degree in psychology, and he must have specialized in this area of knowledge and that is not enough. It is necessary to have a professional improvement and be aware of the news that appears in this area in different scientific articles.
On the other hand, knowledge in the field of psychology is not only required, it is also necessary to have knowledge of law, so it is a professional who must know how the process is going, as well as the different laws that underpin it and that, likewise, determine the sanctions that can be applied for malpractice.
But it’s not just academic knowledge, the forensic psychologist can’t get emotionally involved in the case he’s analyzing, as this would tarnish the mission for which he was assigned as an expert, empathy is also a trait that needs to be evaluated, as is the case. Tolerance to frustration. Assertiveness and good oratory are characteristics that count points in this field of work.
Finally, the forensic psychologist breaks with the stereotypical profession of psychologist who can show the series and movies. Legal and forensic psychology is sometimes unknown, but necessary to solve problems that require a more scientific point of view.