Forensic Reports & Testimony A Guide to Effective Communication for Psychologists and Psychiatrists

Forensic Reports & Testimony: A Guide to Effective Communication for Psychologists and Psychiatrists provides a roadmap for the mental health professional who wants to provide consistently accurate, defensible, and useful reports and testimony to the legal system. Authors Randy K. Otto, Richart L.

Forensic Reports & Testimony: A Guide to Effective Communication for Psychologists and Psychiatrists provides a roadmap for the mental health professional who wants to provide accurate, defensible, and useful reports and testimony to the legal system. Authors Randy K. Otto, Richart L. DeMier, and Marcus T. Boccaccini, recognized experts in the field, cover all aspects of the process, including preparing reports, affidavits, and exhibits; participating in depositions; and testifying in the courtroom. This book uniquely:

• Distinguishes between report writing in forensic and therapeutic contexts
• Includes and explains important maxims of writing forensic reports and testifying, including identifying sources of information, distinguishing between facts and inferences, offering opinions that are truly expert, and making one’s reasoning process clear to the decision maker
• Provides numerous examples of experts' affidavits, reports, and testimony–with commentary and critiques

"In this terrifically practical book, the authors define a scholarly foundation for forensic reports, a process for conceptualizing and structuring them, and excellent how-to guidance on report writing and testimony preparation. They have made the subject come alive with many examples of good and bad reports and testimony and show how transparency and acknowledgment of limitations serves both experts and the justice system well."
—Stanley L. Brodsky, PhD, The University of Alabama

"This is the best step-by-step guide to report writing coupled with research-based, practical advice on how to give effective testimony. It contains the crystalized wisdom of three leading forensic psychologists on how to be persuasive while staying within the ethical guidelines for forensic psychologists and psychiatrists. The authors provide multiple examples of sophisticated, nuanced responses to challenging cross examination questions."
—Phillip J. Resnick, MD, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Forensic Reports & Testimony: A Guide to Effective Communication for Psychologists and Psychiatrists provides a roadmap for the mental health professional who wants to provide consistently accurate, defensible, and useful reports and testimony to the legal system. Authors Randy K. Otto, Richart L. DeMier, and Marcus Boccaccini, recognized experts in the field, cover all aspects of the process, including preparing affidavits and reports, preparing for depositions, and testifying.

Every written or spoken communication for the courts must be clear and precise, and distinguish between facts, inferences, and opinions. This book uniquely:

•Shows the critical differences between forensic psychological reports and the clinical reports psychologists and psychiatrists are accustomed to writing

•Includes and explains important maxims of forensic report writing, including separating facts from inferences, focusing on offering expert opinions, explaining why you think what you think, and connecting the dots between facts and conclusions

•Provides numerous examples of experts’ testimony, affidavits, reports-with commentary and critiques

Expert forensic work deserves to be presented in a clear, precise, and understandable way so that it is useful to attorneys, judges, and juries. Forensic Reports & Testimony provides the guidelines and models forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists need to make that happen.