Forensic psychology special topics intensives are held virtually.

Session Topic: Introspective Analyses of Forensic Behavioral Diagnostics and Assessments, Underlying Psychological Theories, Forensic Issues in Crime Solution, Victim/survivor Outcomes, and Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Forensic Psychology

Facilitated by: Dr. Sandra Caramela-Miller

PhD students can complete this FPSTI to satisfy their Residency 4 requirement after Residency 1 and Residency 2 have been completed.

Multiple training sessions will be presented in this intensive that are crafted to achieve professional development and practice training in a handful of important areas which are inexplicably linked onto the landscape of forensic psychology as well as criminal justice. An introspective analysis of forensic behavioral diagnostic instruments and forensic assessment tools used in evaluating behaviors in major trial crime adjudication will be presented for both criminal behaviors and the adjunct civil suits which may precede or follow. The behaviors under study will emanate from the perpetrators, the victims, and the survivors, with a window into outcome analysis. Participation from attendees will serve to present where further understanding is needed with avenues suggested for application of these behavioral diagnostic instruments and forensic assessment tools. There will be an emphasis on how these instruments and tools have been applied and pockets of areas in which these could be applied to further knowledge. Also presented will be chain of custody, preserving evidence, testimony preparation, trial assessment, testimony evaluations, and communications with officers of the court.

There will be a studied glance into the ecological environments in which the individual person ties into the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, and the macrosystem using Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. The crimes will consist of homicide, suicide, accidental fatalities, felonious assaults, kidnapping, child abuse, human trafficking, rape, sexual assault, sexting, mass attacks, school attacks, home invasions, arson, poisonings, and other lethal events. Case studies will be presented to facilitate the connections through the ecological systems in which the individuals reside, whether the perpetrator, the victim, or survivors. Forensic issues in crime solutions will revolve around the development of forensic tools, database development, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and evidence-based matrices. The status of the forensic psychology field will be explored through data and systematic research to present where we are today in such areas as crime solution before and after forensic tools are implemented. The futures in forensic psychology will be contemplated. 

Such training is designed for graduate students at this intensive who will become leaders in the forensic psychology field whether through practice, teaching, or research. Through lecture, discussion, and review, these forensic psychology aspects will be closely examined. The intensive serves as a vehicle to consider deeply and explore the state of the field today, with an emphasis on predicting new areas that are evolving today. Best practices will be discussed. Participation is the absolute foundational basis for knowledge gain.