Marketing your forensic practice

This blog doesn't focus a lot on marketing matters, but I thought I'd pass along a link to a new overview that's packed with practical tips. Authored by Bill Reid, a prominent forensic psychiatrist and past president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), it was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice and is available for free online. It's most useful for those just starting a forensic practice, but has a few reminders for more seasoned practitioners as well, including regarding the Internet. The tips are as relevant to psychologists and other forensic mental health practitioners as to psychiatrists, the target audience. Here's the summary abstract:

William H. Reid, MD, MPH, fisherman

"Marketing" refers to the entire process of bringing a product or service to the public and creating a demand for it. It is not simply advertising. There are good and bad ways to market one’s practice, and some that are distasteful or even unethical. The quality and credibility of your work are your most important marketing tools. Reputation and word-of-mouth among attorneys is the largest referral source for most private forensic practitioners. Your professional and business practices, the quality of your staff and their interactions with clients, and your day-to-day availability are all critical. The Internet is important for some practitioners. Practice websites are inexpensive, but they should be carefully constructed and avoid appearing sensational or overly self-serving. Research the basics of websites and website traffic, and don’t expect great results for the first year or so. A Web consultant may be helpful, but avoid those who charge lots of money or make grand promises. Paying for advertisements, listings, or brochures is rarely fruitful. Your primary marketing targets are likely to be attorneys, but may include courts and certain government agencies; clinicians are not usually a major referral source. Patients and potential litigants themselves are off-limits; marketing to them is generally unethical. 

The article is the third in a series on "Doing Forensic Work." The first two parts are also available online: (1) Starting the Case and (2) Fees, Billing, and Collections. Dr. Reid's website also has more useful information on forensic psychiatry and related topics, including for students and early-career professionals.

Hat tip: Ken Pope

Two forensic posts at University of Surrey

The Department of Psychology at the University of Surrey, one of the top research and teaching sites in the UK, has two openings for psychologists with active research in forensic psychology, crime and law:

Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology:

The successful applicant will teach at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and will also develop the forensic psychology research program.

Lecturer in Social Psychology, Crime, and Law:

The department is looking for a social psychologist with active research projects and expertise in crime and law.

Click on the above links or contact Peter Hegarty, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of the Psychology Department, for more information.

Should forensic psychologists have minimal training?

Would you trust a "master's level dentist" to pull your tooth? Or a "bachelor's degree attorney" to defend you in court?

Not hardly.

Terminal master's degree programs in forensic psychology represent just this type of degradation in quality, says Carl Clements, a psychology professor at the University of Alabama, who argues that forensic psychology training should remain at the traditional doctoral or postdoctoral level.

But critics like Clements are spitting in the wind. Paralleling forensic psychology's breakneck growth and immense popularity, degree programs -- including many online, distance-learning options -- are sprouting up like mushrooms after a heavy rain. And just like mushrooms, they will be impossible to eliminate.

The field's perceived glamour, including the allure of the mythical profiler, has produced a bumper crop of impressionable young people willing to shell out cash for a forensic degree. Massive prison growth, along with prisoner's rights cases mandating mental health evaluation and treatment, have produced abundant jobs for psychologists.

Educational institutions have responded with alacrity. New training programs take a variety of forms, according to a survey in the current issue of Training and Education in Professional Psychology:

• PhD in clinical psychology with specialty track in forensic psychology (about 10 programs)
• PsyD in clinical psychology with forensic specialty track (about 10 programs)
• PhD in nonclinical (e.g., social or experimental) psychology with forensic or legal emphasis (about 10)
• Joint psychology-law degree programs (6)
• Master's degree in forensic psychology (12)
• Bachelor's degree in forensic psychology (John Jay College of Criminal Justice)
• Undergraduate psychology-law courses (increasingly common and popular)

In addition to all of these different degree options, more and more predoctoral internships offer forensic rotations. About 17% of APA-accredited internships now offer a major forensic rotation, with another 47% offering a minor rotation, according to the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).

Yet with all of this rapid growth, there is no consensus as to what training models and curricula are adequate in order to prepare students for real-world forensic practice. With that in mind, David DeMatteo of Drexel University and colleagues are proposing a set of core competencies for doctoral-level forensic psychology training curricula. At minimum, they say, students should get training and experience in the traditional areas of substantive psychology and research methodology, along with specialized advanced training in:

• Legal knowledge
• Integrative law-psychology knowledge
• Ethics and professional issues in forensic psychology
• Clinical forensic psychology

Aren't all of these areas already integrated into current forensic psychology degree programs?

Again, not hardly.

Reviewing the curricula for the roughly 35 [as of his review] doctoral or joint-degree programs with training in forensic psychology, DeMatteo and colleagues found* only three programs that included all four components. For example, only about 40% offered courses falling under "legal knowledge." More alarmingly, only three programs reported offering courses specifically addressing ethical and professional issues in forensic psychology.

So, will all of the self-described forensic psychologists emerging from these newly minted degree programs be able to find work in the field? I predict that those who travel the traditional path of postdoctoral specialization will fare the best. Those with terminal master's (or even bachelor's) degrees will be restricted to lower-level occupations such as correctional counselor or social services case manager. While they may meet the demands of the prison industry for warm bodies with letters after their names, these practitioners certainly won't be called as experts in court.

But there is a greater danger in these bare-bones forensic training programs. Not only do they offer false promises to students, but they sacrifice the intensive clinical training, including experience working with severely mentally ill populations, that is a key foundation for forensic work. The lack of adequate training in the law and in ethics will likely cause even more disastrous outcomes when these professionals take on forensic cases.

I know, I know. I am just spitting in the wind, too. Financial exigencies always win out.

Related resources:

What's it take to become a forensic psychologist?

*SOURCE: David DeMatteo, Geoffrey Marczyk, Daniel Krauss & Jeffrey Burl (2009), Educational and training models in forensic psychology. Training and Education in Professional psychology 3 (3), pp 184-191. Request from the author HERE.

What's it take to become a forensic psychologist?

Profilers. Silence of the Lambs. The criminal mind. So eerie, so glamorous.

***** NOTE: AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS ESSAY IS AVAILABLE HERE. *****

I get many emails and phone calls from students interested in pursuing forensic psychology as a career. So, by popular demand, here is a brief overview.

First, what is a forensic psychologist?

Forensic psychologists are licensed clinical psychologists who specialize in applying psychological knowledge to legal matters, both in the criminal and civil arenas. Forensic psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology, with its own professional organizations, training programs, and research journals. Forensic psychologists are found in academia, public service, and the private sector.

Forensic psychologists are called upon to assist in a wide variety of legal matters, including the mental state of criminal defendants (insanity, competency, etc.), jury selection, child custody/family law, violence risk prediction, mediation/dispute resolution, discrimination, civil damages, social science research (e.g., recovered memory), and civil commitment.

What is the state of the field?

Forensic psychology is a rapidly growing discipline. Currently, the American Psychology-Law Society has about 3,000 members, and the number continues to grow. Many experienced psychologists are seeking to respecialize into this field in order to escape the confines of managed care. Students are attracted to the field by our culture's growing absorption with all matters criminal, as well as fictional depictions such as TV's The Profiler and Criminal Minds.

The growth of forensic psychology is not without controversy. Some have accused forensic psychologists of being hired guns or even - less politely - "whores." Recent federal court decisions are causing increasing scientific scrutiny of psychological evidence. This in turn is leading to the development of increasingly rigorous training programs, instruments, and procedures that will allow us to withstand such adversarial scrutiny.

In the long run, well-trained forensic psychologists will likely fare well in the increasingly skeptical marketplace of the future.

What skills must a forensic psychologist have?

Forensic psychologists are psychological scientists. The investigatory component requires strong detective skills. We must compare data from multiple sources in order to test alternative hypotheses. The emphasis is on written reports and court testimony that are scientifically valid and can withstand scrutiny in the adversarial environment of the courtroom.

Becoming a successful forensic psychologist requires, at minimum, the following:

• solid clinical psychology training and experience

• firm grounding in scientific theory and empirical research (understanding of scientific validity, research design, statistics, and testing)

• critical thinking

• thorough knowledge of social and cultural issues

• legal knowledge (including mental health law, case law, and courtroom procedures)

• excellent writing skills

• strong oral presentation skills (and ability to maintain composure in stressful circumstances)

So, how can I sign on?

At the present time, there is no single acceptable training model for forensic psychologists.

The dominant model continues to be one in which a student obtains a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, and subsequently pursues a postdoctoral specialization in forensics. However, more and more graduate schools are beginning to adopt forensic tracks. An online list of institutions offering various types of Ph.D./Psy.D. programs in forensic psychology is available here.

Some newer programs also offer terminal master's degrees in forensic psychology, although it is unclear how master's level clinicians will fare in a field dominated by professionals with more advanced degrees.

Only a handful of formal postdoctoral specialization programs exist nationwide, and these programs are quite small and selective, typically accepting only one to two candidates per year. These rigorous programs are aimed at training future leaders in the field.

Some people also pursue dual degrees in psychology and law. There are a few such joint degree programs, and some law schools offer a scaled-down, one-year Master of Legal Studies degree. Having a dual degree may make one more competitive, but for most practitioners it is not realistic or cost-effective.

A more thorough discussion of the pros and cons of different types of educational programs is available in the brand-new edition of Psychological Evaluations for the Courts.

The Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice has just (Vol. 7 #2, 2007) published a point-counterpoint pair of articles on whether forensic psychology should necessarily require a doctoral degree:

"Raising the bar: The case for doctoral training in forensic psychology," by Carl B. Clements, Ph.D., ABPP, and Emily E. Wakeman, MA

"The time is now: The emerging need for master's-level training in forensic psychology," by Matt Zaitchik, Ph.D., Garrett Berman, Ph.D., Don Whitworth, Ph.D., & Judith Platania, Ph.D.

What tips do you have for trainees?

• Apply for forensic-related internships, such as at forensic hospitals, correctional facilities, and community mental health settings.

• Tailor your doctoral dissertation to a psychology-law topic in your area of professional interests.

• Become a student member of the American Psychology-Law Society, an interdisciplinary organization devoted to scholarship, practice, and public service in psychology and law.

• Purchase and read Psychological Evaluations for the Courts, a critical resource in forensic psychology.

• Stay current by regularly reading the leading journals in the field, among them Law and Human Behavior, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, and Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.

Becoming successful in this field is an arduous endeavor. However, for those with the energy, stamina and critical thinking skills, it can be a rewarding occupation.

But what about criminal profiling?

Oh, yes. That question.

Unfortunately, one of students’ biggest misconceptions about forensic psychology is that we do criminal profiling. This mythology comes directly from movies and TV shows such as Silence of the Lambs, Criminal Minds, and The Profiler.

In reality, most law enforcement agencies do not regularly use criminal profiling methods. When they do, they typically employ profilers with extensive backgrounds in law enforcement rather than in psychology. Perhaps more importantly, many scholars dispute that profiling even qualifies as a scientific method meriting inclusion in the behavioral sciences.

So, if your primary interest is in criminal profiling, the field of forensic psychology may not be for you.

***** NOTE: AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS ESSAY IS AVAILABLE HERE. *****