Day 1 :
Keynote Forum
Anthony J Fischetto
Alpha Omega Counseling Center, USA
Keynote: How to be an expert as a mental health expert witness or consultant (Laws, Regulations, and Procedures)
Time : 09:30-10:00
Biography:
Fischetto is a Licensed Psychologist with a specialty in Forensic Psychology. He has been doing forensic evaluations for 25 years and has conducted over 20,000 evaluations. He is a Diplomate in Forensic Psychology with the American Board of Psychological Specialties. Dr. Fischetto is also an adjunct professor in psychological testing and assessments, a consulting Psychologist at the Reading Hospital, and has a full-time private practice in counseling, consulting, and forensic evaluations for criminal and civil cases
Abstract:
This seminar will teach you how to be a qualified forensic mental health expert in being professional, thorough, objective, and therefore, a credible expert—and to minimize the appearance or risk of ineffective assistance. The topics will include: the difference between a Treating Psychologist/Psychiatrist and an Evaluating Psychologist/Psychiatrist, the difference between a Forensic Psychologist/Psychiatrist/Expert Witness/Consultant and a Clinical (non-forensically trained) Practitioner, the role of an Expert Witness versus a Consultant, the issue of malingering, questions to ask before conducting a Forensic Evaluation and the latest developments in psycholegal issues including the legal statues pertinent to your cases
Keynote Forum
Ronn Johnson
University of San Diego, USA
Keynote: A conversation on the ethics of assessing competence for forensic psychological practice with juvenile fire setters and bomb makers
Time : 10:00-10:30
Biography:
Ronn Johnson is licensed and board certified clinical psychologist with extensive experience in academic and clinical settings. Doctor Johnson is a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has served as a staff psychologist in community mental health clinics, hospitals, schools and university counseling centers. The University of Iowa, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Central Oklahoma, and San Diego State University are among the sites of his previous academic appointments. His forensic, scholarship, and teaching interests include: ethical-legal issues, police psychology, women death penalty, and contraterrorism.
Abstract:
Due to its international prevalence, Juvenile Fire Setting and Bomb Making (JFSB) represent a major risk to public safety. It would not be surprising to find that a significant number of juvenile offenders have mental health disorders that coincide with the fire setting and bomb making. For example, Court-Involved, Non-Incarcerated (CINI) juveniles represent about two-thirds of the juvenile justice population. Moreover, a significant portion (i.e., about a third or half) of this population meets DSM criteria for a psychological disorder. More troubling, this group is also at increased risk for persistent reoffending and self-reported antisocial activity. The aforementioned unwanted juvenile circumstances have contributed to a traditional adjudication shift into exploring common mental health goals for JFSBs that can be shared between various mental health professionals (e.g., Clinical Mental Health Counselors, Forensic Psychologists, School Counselors, MFTs, and Social Workers’). As an alternative to incarceration, these JFSB cases mean that licensed and qualified mental health professionals, who usually operate in a strictly clinical context, are now practicing in a forensic-clinical context. Working with JFSB cases is one of the most challenging clinical forensic tasks for professionals. JFSBs are often referred for help from a mental health professional under the assumption that when accurate assessment and appropriate intervention by a professional is provided, fire setting or bomb making recidivistic and escalation behaviors can be reduced. Unfortunately, clinical, risk assessments, motivational and capacity for treatment factors of JFSBs are often missed by licensed mental health professionals. Mainly because these professionals lack the experience, training, and supervision required to competently work with JFSBs. Each of the previously identified mental health professions have sections in their ethical codes that speak to the issues associated with assessment of professional competence. The role that licensed mental health professional’s play with JFSB is circumscribed to offering competent and evidenced based interventions aimed at addressing the public safety risk factors presented by these cases. Despite this lack of preparation, the likelihood that mental health professionals will come in contact with JFSB cases without sufficient clinical proficiencies underscores the need to examine the ethics of competence as it applies to JFSB service providers. There is a paucity of research in the extent literature that examines mental health professional’s assessment of their competencies with respect to JFSB. The potential consequences could result in adverse effects stemming from improper assessment and/or treatment. This paper presentation was crafted to highlight the ethical requirement for mental health professionals to assess for their competencies as they consider delivering services to JFSB cases in diverse settings.
Keynote Forum
Anthony J Fischetto
Alpha Omega Counseling Center, USA
Keynote: How to be an expert as a mental health expert witness or consultant (Laws, Regulations, and Procedures)
Time : 09:00AM
Biography:
Fischetto is a Licensed Psychologist with a specialty in Forensic Psychology. He has been doing forensic evaluations for 25 years and has conducted over 20,000 evaluations. He is a Diplomate in Forensic Psychology with the American Board of Psychological Specialties. Dr. Fischetto is also an adjunct professor in psychological testing and assessments, a consulting Psychologist at the Reading Hospital, and has a full-time private practice in counseling, consulting, and forensic evaluations for criminal and civil cases
Abstract:
This seminar will teach you how to be a qualified forensic mental health expert in being professional, thorough, objective, and therefore, a credible expert—and to minimize the appearance or risk of ineffective assistance. The topics will include: the difference between a Treating Psychologist/Psychiatrist and an Evaluating Psychologist/Psychiatrist, the difference between a Forensic Psychologist/Psychiatrist/Expert Witness/Consultant and a Clinical (non-forensically trained) Practitioner, the role of an Expert Witness versus a Consultant, the issue of malingering, questions to ask before conducting a Forensic Evaluation and the latest developments in psycholegal issues including the legal statues pertinent to your cases.