What is a PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERT REPORT and what is it for?

Forensic psychology is becoming increasingly important in Spain, psychological expert reports are the main tools of this and constitute a fundamental factor for the advice of judges and courts in matters of character psychological. In this Psychology-Online article we will explain what exactly is a psychological expert report and what it is for, as well as we will review the main characteristics that form it.

Index

1. What is a psychological expert report?
2. Why is a psychological expert report necessary?
3. Characteristics of the forensic psychological report
4. How to make a psychological expert report?
5. How to challenge a psychological expert report?

The Forensic psychology It is a specialty of psychology that is practiced basically before the court and that advises and advises the court with knowledge of psychology. The psychological expert report It is one that is carried out by the psychologist and is referred to the requested authority, that is, to the judge and the courts, to serve as a

It is a written, signed and dated document where the expert psychologist presents his conclusions and considerations on the objective of the requested evaluation. Normally, the expert must verbally ratify his report and answer the questions that the judge asks him in court, so that what he says could be considered as evidence.

The intervention of the psychologist in the judicial context occurs based on his conception of auxiliary to justice, that is, to offer the judge the information he requests from us and that is derived from knowledge of our discipline, which he does not know and which he needs to elucidate the demand. It is a very important task that requires some responsibility since the results of the forensic evaluation can influence, and in some cases determine, if someone whether or not you are awarded custody of your children, whether or not you will be obliged to pay for damages caused to another litigant, whether you will return home from the Courtroom, or whether you will spend years in prison.

Why is a psychological expert report necessary? It must be borne in mind that the vast majority of judges have a training based on the law and in the judicial sphere, it is often necessary to seek advice from professionals in other sectors such as psychological to assess issues that they are not used to working with or are unaware of because they are not part of their field of study and work. Psychological expert reports broaden the judge's vision by offering a professional point of view on determining factors of the person they are evaluating.

On the other hand, forensic psychologists can also make expert reports requested by the parties or privately by lawyers or clients. The expert, whether private or appointed by the court, must carry out his work in order to respond to the points of expertise requested by the contracting party and / or by the court, which will normally be included in the file judicial.

In the following article you will find more information about The role of the psychologist in the legal field.

The characteristics of an expert forensic psychological report, in terms of structure, are the following:

1. Identifying data of the expert and the evaluated.
2. Reason for the report.
3. Methodology.
4. Exposure of the information collected.
5. Psycholegal or forensic discussion.
6. Expert conclusions.
7. Date and signature.

As to contents:

1. Identification data of the technical psychologist responsible for the psychological expertise. Name and surname, collegiate number and details of the procedure and court for which the document is provided. Date of receipt of the order, date and place of the evaluation and the data of the evaluated person.
2. Quote from the reason requested by the judge.
3. Techniques used for evaluation of the subject as well as the scores obtained. It is advisable to make a brief description of the technique used, collecting scientific reviews that support its use.
4. Evaluation results, which contains the following subsections: family history, personal history, habits toxics, medical history, psychopathological evaluation and presentation of test results applied.
5. This is the main part of the report as it is where the expert justifies and reasons his technical considerations on the basis of scientific grounds. In this section the information obtained is discussed evaluating the data obtained according to the psycholegal demand.
6. It is exposed in a clear, numbered and organized way the conclusions obtained. They should be brief.
7. The psychological expert must always sign the report forensic with name, surname, collegiate number, date of preparation or issuance of the report (which determines the temporal and contextual validity).

Once we already take into account the characteristics in terms of form and content mentioned in the section above, we must take into account the following considerations to make an expert report psychological:

1. Use a clear and simple language that does not include too many technicalities related to psychology and behavioral sciences since it should be read by professionals from other fields.
2. Everything that is argued must contain scientific and verifiable evidence.
3. The expert must answer the questions asked in a manner clear, concise and concrete.
4. Do not include irrelevant aspects to the cause that has been requested.
5. Coherent, defensible.
6. Avoid being imprecise in the statements that are made.
7. Do not include value judgments or any kind of personal opinion.
8. You should not enter into questions of imputability and innocence, the judge is in charge of that. The expert it only indicates possible mental alterations that may affect that imputability.
9. These types of reports should not be used to show off knowledge or vocabulary. Is about inform and respond to requests professionally. Keep in mind that it is a legal and scientific document.

On the other hand, the Spanish Criminal Procedure Law (Article 478) recommends that these aspects be included:

• Description of the person or thing object of the same, in the state or the way in which it is.
• Detailed list of all the operations carried out by the experts and their results.
• Conclusions that the experts formulate in view of the data obtained, in accordance with the principles and rules of science or art.

To challenge a psychological expert report, that is, to clearly state that the content of the report prepared by the professional, we must first take into account when we can do it. It can be done when there is a discrepancy on the procedure by which the expert has been made or on its conclusions.

In order to do this, the most recommended method is provide a counter-expert, that is to say, another expertise developed by the other party, by the defense. The two will deal with the same object and therefore can be counteracted. To do so, each expert must defend his report with the scientific knowledge that he has and has applied. If we ask for a counter-expert, we must reason minimally and designate which experts must carry it out to avoid inadmissible the test. This challenge it can only be done in the Oral Trial.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is a psychological expert report and what is it for?, we recommend that you enter our category of Legal psychology.

• Anonymous. Guide to challenge expert witnesses of the accusation, Blogpericial. Recovered from: https://blogpericial.com/guia-impugnar-periciales-la-acusacion/#POR_QUE_MOTIVOS_PODEMOS_IMPUGNAR
• Col·legi Oficial de Psicología de Catalunya. (2014) Good practice guide for forensic psychological evaluation and expert practice. Recovered from: http://www.infocop.es/pdf/guiaforense2014.pdf
• Gónzalez, D. & Delgado, S. (2008). Expert report: a case of workplace harassment. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology (24),1. 113-124.