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Jemour Maddux, Psy.D., ABPP is now American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP) Faculty. “As in many professions, Specialty Board Certification in Forensic Psychology signifies that an individual has met the established standards for the profession as maintained and protected by an organization that the field recognizes for that role. The organization entrusted with that role regarding board certification in Forensic Psychology is the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), which attests that the certified professional possesses a high level of professional competence in the specialt ..read more

Oxford, in partnership with the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, is currently working on updating its successful book series titled “Best Practices in Forensic Mental Health Assessment.” Jemour Maddux, Ira Packer, and Chriscelyn Tussey are the new editors who will be responsible for this update. The original editors of the series, including Kirk Heilbrun, Thomas Grisso, and Alan Goldstein, played a crucial role in shaping the profession by disseminating best practices in forensic mental health assessment. Their contribution was significant, from developing the well-known structure used ..read more

Taube, D. O., Shapiro, D. L., Harster, K., Cruitt, P., & Maddux, J. (2023). Problems with the interjurisdictional regulation of psychological practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 54(6), 389–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000536 It is a pleasure to announce the publication of this new open access article. The paper explores the limitations of PSYPACT. While the compact is not a perfect solution, Dr. Maddux noted it is particularly timely and advantageous, if not necessary, because of our nation’s healthcare, competency, and public safety hiring problems. Dr. Maddux re ..read more

Forensic psychology is applying the methods and science of psychology to answering questions relating to a legal issue or a particular judicial process. For example, let us talk about a classic not guilty by reason of insanity case. Although these cases are rarely successful, they are probably the most well-known cases involving expert witnesses with a specialization in forensic psychology. In most states for someone to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, it must be established that the defendant did not have an understanding of the wrongfulness of their behavior at the time they commit ..read more

Forensic psychology is a rather young specialization within the area of professional psychology. Most of the prolific authors in this area of psychology are still living and still publishing. If you are looking for some book recommendations as an undergraduate student aspiring to become a forensic psychologist one day, then we would like to direct your attention to the best practices series produced by Oxford University Press in the area of forensic mental health assessment. These books are concise, typically short and have various charts and bullet points of information that help readers to q ..read more

By Grishma Ghelani Forensic psychology applies the science of psychology in the legal field. Forensic psychologists play an essential role in the outcome of a legal case. Whether you are a student aspiring to become a forensic psychologist, a forensic psychologist yourself or in general intrigued by this field, there are many helpful books and scholarly material you could use to educate yourself. Books about forensic psychology provide a coherent overview of topics ranging from court proceedings to psychological assessments, criminal profiling, investigative procedures, interviewing children i ..read more

Student Mentee: I saw that your had your own firm, and I was just wondering what your day-to-day responsibilities were and what it is like to be a forensic psychologist. Forensic Psychologist Mentor: So, a forensic psychologist is essentially a psychologist that has gone on to develop an understanding an expertise in the legal process as it overlaps with psychological practice. We use psychological methods, like interviewing people and psychological testing, in order to assist the judicial system with making legal determinations concerning a variety of different issues (potentially a law suit ..read more

Recently, one of our mentors was asked a really great question. A student inquired about whether politics impact the testimony experts deliver. The official answer is no. The services conducted by forensic psychologists involved the application of a well-accepted methodology reliably applied to the details of the case. Now, it is important to know that politics as a cultural issue should and will impact the expert’s case formulation. However, it is not the expert’s culture or political leanings that should drive the opinions. Rather, it should be the examinee’s culture and political lean ..read more

After undergrad, you’ll need at least 5 more years of school to become a forensic psychologist. You probably knew that, but let me tell you what is it like in graduate school for forensic psychology. Your experiences in school as a teenager or young adult do not capture what it is like in graduate school for forensic psychology. For one, during graduate school for forensic psychology (or any other subspecialty), you will only be taking about four classes per semester. It is expected that you’ll earn B’s and above in those classes. If not, you may find yourself on academic probation. C’s ar ..read more