Hervey Bay Forensic Psychologist

What do Forensic Psychologists Do?

Our Hervey Bay Forensic Psychologist applies psychological theory and skills to the understanding and functioning of the legal and criminal justice system. They work in criminal, civil and family legal contexts and provide services for perpetrators, victims and justice personnel. Forensic Psychology encompasses issues such as: the causes, prevention and treatment of criminal behaviour; the Courts and the correctional system; and the contributions of psychological evidence to legal proceedings.

Experience – when it counts!

Undertaking psychological assessments and writing of Medico-Legal reports is a process that requires experience and skill. Our Specialist Hervey Bay Forensic Psychologist has a broad forensic & clinical background, excellent assessment skills, superior communication skills and extensive experience in completing psychological evaluations in legal settings. She is trained in writing reports for forensic and legal purposes, and are regularly involved in the delivery of forensic psychological services to legal firms, Courts, Government Departments and Tribunals.

Evaluation, Assessment and Report Preparation

BetterLife Directions Forensic Psychological evaluation and consulting services are designed to assist in determining decisions regarding family, civil, tribunal or criminal matters, and provide a detailed, situation-specific assessment strategy which goes beyond the typical psychological evaluation completed for clinical purposes. Following an extensive psychological investigation and assessment processes, our reports include:

• Full case history, noting background, details of interviews, meetings, investigations and research
• Results and discussion of appropriate psychological assessments undertaken
• Summaries and conclusions relating directly to the legal issues of the case, and reflecting standard psychological practice
• Explanation of the relationship between psychological factors and the legal issues
• Review of evidence and reports provided by other experts and/or treatment providers, and discussion of any problems identified with their methods and/or conclusion
• Research supporting the conclusions
• Practical recommendations offered without professional psychological ‘jargon’, understanding that implementation of recommendations must be possible a) within the legal system, and b) through services available in the community.

Psychologists as Expert Witnesses

Forensic Psychologists can provide tesimony as expert witnesses in cases as diverse as assessment for trauma of victims-of-crime to the assessment of risk of re-offending. The diversity includes issues such as competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility, assessing risk and dangerousness, post-accident impairment, capacity to work, degree of mental retardation, the insanity defence, operation of memory, causation of death as a result of mental state, custodial & access arrangements and effects of discrimination.

Services

Criminal Court

• Evaluations of people accused of criminal acts
• Juvenile and Adult Pre-sentencing evaluations
• Probation evaluations
• Risk of recividism / re-offending
• Evaluating the credibility of Child Witnesses
• Assessment of Juvenile and Adult sexual offenders
• Competency and Diminished Capacity (eg neuropsych)Evaluations
• Psychologists also provide counselling to individuals involved with the Criminal Court. The issues addressed include:
• Counselling of individuals who violate restraining orders
• Counselling individuals on probation
• Supportive counselling for the Victims of Crime
• Counselling of individuals awaiting trial
• Anger management skills
• Counselling for sexual offenders

Civil Court

• Personal Injury Evaluations
• Assessment of Emotional Factors in Sexual Harassment and Discrimination
• Worker’s Compensation Evaluations
• Competency and Diminished Capacity (eg neuropsych) Evaluations
• Second Opinion Evaluations
• Expert Review of Psychological Reports
• Expert Witness Testimony

In Civil Court cases, our Psychologists can assist with counselling to individuals for the following problems:

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Anxiety & Depression
• Phobias Related to Traumatic Events
• Psychological Factors in Chronic Pain
• Anger Management
• Adjustment Counselling following trauma
• Couple Counselling regarding the impact of the trauma on the relationship

Family Court

• Child Custody / Placement Evaluations
• Visitation Risk Assessments
• Mediation of Parental Conflicts about Children
• Child Abuse Evaluations
• Adoption Readiness Evaluations
• Developmet of Family Reunification Plans
• Evaluations to Assess Termination of Parental Rights

Counselling services offered to families referred by the court include:

• Parent-child family counselling
• Therapeutic supervised visitation
• Parental skills / communication skills training
• Anger management
• Divorce adjustment counselling for children and/or adults

Contact Us

If you want to find out more about seeing our Specialist Hervey Bay Forensic Psychologist then call us on (07) 4124 4521 or complete our online enquiry form by clicking here.