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Psychological Injuries: Forensic Assessment, Treatment, and Law

Human emotional suffering has been studied for centuries, but the significance of psychological injuries within legal contexts has only recently been recognized. As the public becomes increasingly aware of the ways in which mental health affects physical – and financial – well-being, psychological injuries comprise a rapidly growing set of personal injury insurance claims. Although the diverse range of problems that people claim to suffer from are serious and often genuine, the largely subjective and unobservable nature of psychological conditions has led to much skepticism about the authenticity of psychological injury claims. Improved assessment methods and research on the economic and physical health consequences of psychological distress has resulted in exponential growth in the litigation related to such conditions.

Integrating the history of psychological injuries both from legal and mental health perspectives, this book offers compelling discussions of relevant statutory and case law. Focusing especially on posttraumatic stress disorder, it addresses the current status and empirical limitations of forensic assessments of psychological injuries and alerts readers to common vulnerabilities in expert evidence from mental health professionals. In addition, it also uses the latest empirical research to provide the best forensic methods for assessing both clinical conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder and for alternative explanations such as malingering. The authors offer state-of-the-art information on early intervention, psychological therapies, and pharmaceutical treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder and stimulating suggestions for further research into this complex phenomenon.

A comprehensive guide to psychological injuries, this book will be an indispensable resource for all mental health practitioners, researchers, and legal professionals who work with psychological injuries.

Using Social Science to Reduce Violent Offending

Over the past three decades, the American criminal justice system has become unapologetically punitive. High rates of incarceration and frequent use of long-term segregation have become commonplace, with little concern for evidence that such practices make the public safer – and as the editors of this groundbreaking volume assert, they do not. Bringing together experts in the fields of social science, forensic psychology and criminal justice, Using Social Science to Reduce Violent Offending addresses what truly works in reducing violent offending. Promoting an approach to correctional policy grounded in an evidence-based and nuanced understanding of human behavior, leading authorities from the United States, Canada, and Great Britain offer specific and practical strategies for improving the criminal and juvenile justice systems. Beginning by covering the history and scope of violent crime and incarceration in the U.S., this pioneering volume offers clear and practical recommendations for implementing approaches focused on behavioral change of even the most particular offender groups, such as juvenile offenders, sexual offenders, and offenders with mental illnesses. The authors argue for a more scientifically informed justice system, one where offenders-through correctional approaches such as community-based treatments and cognitive behavioral interventions-can be expected to learn the skills they will need to succeed in avoiding crime upon release. Authors also highlight methods for overcoming system inertia in order to implement these recommendations. Drawing on the science of human behavior to inform correctional practice, this book is an invaluable resource for policymakers, practitioners, mental health and criminal justice professionals, and anyone interested in the science behind the policies surrounding criminal punishment.

Handbook of Violence Risk Assessment

This comprehensive Handbook of original chapters serves as a resource for clinicians and researchers alike. Two introductory chapters cover general issues in violence risk assessment, while the remainder of the book offers a comprehensive discussion of specific risk assessment measures.

Forensic psychology practitioners, mental health professionals who deal with the criminal justice system, and legal professionals working with violent offenders will find the Handbook of Violence Risk Assessment to be the primary reference for the field.

Psychological Science in the Courtroom: Controversies and Consensus

This rigorous yet reader-friendly book reviews the state of the science on a broad range of psychological issues commonly encountered in the forensic context. The goal is to help professionals and students differentiate between supported and unsupported psychological techniques–and steer clear of those that may be misleading or legally inadmissible. Leading contributors focus on controversial issues surrounding recovered memories, projective techniques, lie detection, child witnesses, offender rehabilitation, psychopathy, violence risk assessment, and more. With a focus on real-world legal situations, the book offers guidelines for presenting scientific evidence accurately and effectively in courtroom testimony and written reports.