Clinical versus Forensic Evaluation and Ethical Considerations in Forensic

 Contexts Interviews and evaluations in forensic and clinical contexts differ significantly, both theoretically and procedurally. For example, clinical evaluations generally include willing participants while forensic evaluations quite often do not. It is important for mental health practitioners to have a thorough understanding of the differences. Often the distinction between these two types of evaluations is blurred, resulting in procedural, ethical, and practical complications for the client and the practitioner. The goals of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Professional Guidelines are to “improve the quality of forensic psychological services; enhance the practice and facilitate the systematic development of forensic psychology; encourage a high level of quality in professional practice; and encourage forensic practitioners to acknowledge and respect the rights of those they serve.” The APA Guidelines suggest appropriate behavior, but they fall short of prescribing specific standards of practice or penalties. In this Assignment, you will first analyze differences between clinical and forensic evaluations. Next, you will conduct research to locate legal cases in which forensic psychologists have engaged in behaviors that resulted in mistrials or changes in sentencing. Then, you will search the APA Guidelines for suggestions on how psychologists could have handled their duties more professionally. Finally, you apply legal and ethical guidelines to your own behavior as a hypothetical forensic interviewer. To Prepare for this Assignment: By Day 7 Submit a paper of 3–4 pages where you address the following: Describe the components of a clinical psychological evaluation. Describe the components of a forensic psychological evaluation. Provide a summary table of the differences between clinical and forensic evaluations. Refer to the Greenberg and Shuman article for an example of a table delineating differences. Identify the specific ethical violation in the case study and discuss why this violates ethical codes. Analyze the consequences of the forensic psychologist’s behavior for the individuals involved in the case (e.g., witnesses, victims, defendants, and plaintiffs). Provide specific details. Assess what you would have done differently, and why, if you were the forensic evaluator in this case. Support your answers by citing the Learning Resources as well as websites and web articles relating to the issues in the legal case.