Culturally-informed Forensic Mental Health Assessment: Experts' Opinions and Future Directions

Forensic evaluators have an ethical imperative to conduct culturally-informed assessments. Evaluators frequently express interest in learning more about how to effectively conduct culturally competent forensic mental health assessment (FMHA), but routinely note access to training and the lack of evidence-based guidelines as major challenges (Fanniff et al., 2022; Kois & Chauhan, 2016). A recent poll of experts in forensic psychology established 28 widely agreed upon practices for effectively incorporating cultural considerations in FMHA across seven phases of FMHA: (1) developing competence and ongoing tasks, (2) preparation from referral to initiation of evaluation, (3) practices for evaluations of examinees who have limited English proficiency, (4) rapport and communication, (5) data collection and assessment, (6) formulation, and (7) report writing (Fanniff et al., 2023). This seminar will discuss methods used to identify these practices, make concrete recommendations for how to incorporate these practices into forensic mental health assessments, and discuss how legal practitioners can determine whether an evaluation was conducted in a culturally-informed manner.

Amanda Fanniff, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor at Palo Alto University. She completed her doctorate in clinical psychology with a specialization in psychology, policy, and law at the University of Arizona and her post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, a division of the University of South Florida. Her teaching since arriving at PAU in 2011 has primarily been in the forensic emphasis of PAU’s clinical psychology PhD program. Her research currently focuses on developmentally and culturally informed forensic mental health assessment; justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in forensic psychology research and training; and the ways in which individuals with different sociocultural identities have different experiences in the criminal and juvenile legal systems.

This event is free to attend for ANZAPPL members. Non-members may attend for $15. Please click here to register.