Forensic Psychology: Concept of Pychology

The subfield I was assigned to was Forensic Psychology. The individuals who are involved in the subfield of forensic psychology applies the principles and concept of psychology to understand a behavior of a criminal or just a person in certain situations. They are usually working side to side with the criminal justice system in their areas. Forensic Psychologist mainly evaluate the criminals to see what was their reasoning and motives behind the crime that they have done or have not done.

Forensic psychology has many different types of activities in their subfield. On a day to day bases they are able to provide and prepare testimony's in the court, Consult with attorneys on mental health issues in the court system, and also Advise police on mental illness and criminal psychology. If you are not working with the court systems or lawyers, another thing one can do are working with victims. Forensics psychologist helps victims by helping them cope with the violent crime that happen to them, at this point you will most likely work in a clinical environment. Other thank working in a court type of environment, another activity is research. The type of research forensic psychologist does are more of analyzing and studying other professionals, and also lead their own research. They also research topics that appeal to the legal system. The individual will more than likely research the clients that they are working with at that moment. Many researches are performed at universities, or even in a class room (Parker, 2008).

There are many jobs related to forensic psychology at different levels of masters or doctorate degrees. A job you can have with a master's degree is a jury consultant. According to What Can I Do with a Degree in Forensic Psychology? (2016). A jury consultant works with legal teams in order to determine how to seat the best jury for that team's desired outcome as well as how to proceed with the case when the jury has been chosen. A job a doctorate degree can get is an expert witness. An expert witness in this context can answer speculative questions about the accused's state of mind, can refer to professional psychological literature and studies, and may be able to give juries a better picture of how psychology plays a role in a particular crime. These two jobs are kind of jobs I will like to have if I received my masters and doctorate in forensic psychology.

One will be very successful with being in a subfield of Forensic Psychology, but there is some training required and recommended for the subfield. To be a Forensic Psychologist you will need to obtain a doctorate degree. According to Helms & Rogers (2015) a master's degree is sufficient for many community and technical colleges. A doctoral degree will be needed to work at a colleges and universities (pg.323). A certification that a Forensic Psychologist who provides assessment, treatment, and diagnosis will be required to be licensure. There are pre-doctoral internships that helps students get into the field before they receive their doctorate degree. The best training to have in this subfield is just to attend a graduate program for forensic psychology to understand the laws that applies to their particular area of practice.

This subfield has around 5 relevant organizations that are for forensic psychology. The specific APA organizations that forensic psychology has is the APA Division 41, the American Psychology-Law Society. Five Professional Organizations for Forensic Psychologist (2017) stated that this organization focuses on the creation and application of psychology as a science by promoting psychological research, improving research methodology, and improving the qualifications of psychologists by developing an ethical code of conduct. Another kind is the AAFP this is a professional organization for those forensic psychologists who have earned board certification from the American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP). The third kind of organization is the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology. This organization is for building a bridge for forensic psychology and the law. They usually study the criminal behavior and motivation. Some of the members that are included in this organization are social workers, police officers, and lawyers. The fourth one is the American Academy of Forensic Science. The AAFS goals are to promote the field of forensic psychology. Their membership is very diverse from all 50 states and 70 extra countries. The last relevant organization is International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology. This organization works on informing the high quality of mental service to criminal offenders. They also research for treatments that can help stop psychological disorders that turn into criminal behaviors.

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