Practitioners Conducting Interpersonal Violence Forensic Evaluations

摘要

Practitioners are often asked to assess battered women (BW) to form opinions about how their history of victimization may have implications for their mental status. In addition to assessment for treatment plans, opinions can be offered for criminal responsibility, diminished capacity, extreme emotional disturbances, resentencing, affixing the nexus between domestic violence (DV) and personal injury, or impact on access to children during family law disputes among other legal cases. While evaluations of BW and its effects are not uncommon, there is a lack of research and recommended practices for these evaluations, especially when knowledgeable psychotherapists want to perform forensic evaluations. This article aims to provide anecdotal accounts of practices for BW evaluations, specifically related to psychological assessment tools and brief report writing. In BW evaluations for forensic cases, special attention is important in preparing for the evaluation (i.e., agreements with retaining parties, review of collateral documentation) as well as a thorough explanation of informed consent and confidentiality. The mental status examination and behavioral observations are important to integrate with other data points. The authors discuss recommendations and relevant research for specific assessment tools to evaluate personality, emotional, and cognitive functioning, as well as trauma inventories. Finally, brief considerations are noted for report writing that specifically includes comprehensive discussion of interpersonal functioning, writing in a manner that conveys the BW.