1

Careers in Applied Psychology – Forensic Psychology

Name

Institution

Course

Professor

Date
 2

Careers in Applied Psychology – Forensic Psychology

Question 2: Education, Training, and Licenses

The road of education, training, and certification to become a forensic psychologist in

Ontario is very lengthy and complicated. Usually, a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a

related discipline is earned first, followed by a master’s degree in forensic psychology or a

related field. Afterwards, a doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) in forensic psychology or clinical

psychology, with a forensic emphasis, is pursued. From there, all candidates will undergo a

predoctoral internship and a postdoctoral fellowship or supervised practice in forensic

psychology. Firstly, taking the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)

and Ontario Jurisprudence Examination is compulsory (OJE). In the end, a registration with

the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO) should not be overlooked. CPO requires its

members, among others, to undergo education, training, and supervision. With this

complicated process, it generally requires at least 7 to 10 years after the undergraduate degree

completion (Chamlou, 2024).

Question 3: Settings Forensic psychologists may Work

Forensic psychologists in Ontario are employed in a wide range of settings in order to

meet the different demands of the judiciary system and the society at large. In this case,

another example of such an environment is the criminal justice space where forensic

psychologists usually operate within the prisons or are related to the courts. The law

enforcement agencies also find wide use of forensic psychologists for the purpose of the

conduct of their operations. In addition, some forensic psychologists could prefer to have

their own offices where they serve individuals or businesses that would like their help. Other

workplaces for forensic psychologists are academic and research institutions as well as

community mental health centers. Forensic psychologists can also be found in hospitals and
 3

treatment institutions as they work on their wards’ health problems, especially those in the

justice system. One of the major organizations in Ontario which use forensic psychologists is

the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). CAMH is a highly reputed mental

health teaching hospital and research entity in Toronto that provides services in forensic

psychology and mental health law (CAMH, n.d.) The services and career opportunities that

are available in Forensic Psychology are highlighted in their website; https://www.camh.ca/.

Question 4: Tasks and Responsibilities of a Forensic Psychologist

Among jobs done by forensic psychologists, there is a wide range of tasks and duties.

One of the crucial tasks is psychological examinations and assessments for legal matters

(Palo Alto University, 2023). These may include competency evaluations to establish an

individual’s fitness to be tried, risk assessments to determine potential future dangerousness

or recidivism, or custody evaluations to aid the decision-making regarding child custody

disputes. One of the most crucial roles that they play is giving evidence in court to help

provide psychological and clinical insights to a crime. Forensic psychologists may get

involved in the development as well as the implementation of treatment and rehabilitation

programs for offenders or people who are involved in the legal system (Ward, 2013). These

programs are designed to address mental health problems, substance abuse, or criminal

behavior, with the intent of smoothened transitioning into the society. When it comes to jury

selection, a forensic psychologist may be brought in for the voir dire questioning to help

identify any prejudice or factors that can affect the jury decisions. They may, additionally,

offer consultations on group dynamics or cognitive biases that influence jury decision

making, in order to ensure fair and impartial trials.

Question 5: Journal Articles on Forensic Psychology

Here is the links to the journals that I have identified which are related to the field of

forensic psychology.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.910672

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12910-021-00688-2

Question 6: Chosen Article Analysis

a) The aim of this qualitative study is to examine the way mental health professionals

(MHPs) like forensic psychologists who are working in the court mandated treatment settings

perceive and resolve their dual loyalty conflict (Merkt et al., 2021). Here comes the ethical

problem for MHPs as they perform a double duty like they have to care for their patient and

also protect public security at the same time. The dual loyalty conflict results from the

tripartite relationship existing between the MHP, the patient, and the justice system, each

with their own standards and patterns. The study aimed at the investigating the strategies used

by MHPs in overcoming this ethical dilemma. The potential need for these professionals to

balance and navigate between these competing concerns was the focal point of the

investigation. Through the scrutiny of the attitudes and encounters of the MHPs dealing with

the forced participation in therapy, the researchers hoped to learn effective ways of settling

dual loyalty dilemma in the routine clinical practice.

Contrary, the study does not present a specific hypothesis but adopts an open-ended

approach taking into account the nature of the observed phenomenon. Instead of testing a

particular hypothesis, the researchers made an attempt to reveal various perspectives and the

coping mechanisms used by MHPs in overcoming the ethical problems they encounter in the

course of their work (Merkt et al., 2021). This flexible method led to complex raw data that

could be applied to future guidelines and ethical directions in our professional world.
 5

b) The main method of the study is the qualitative interview study. The researchers

interviewed 31 mental health workers from different areas of Switzerland working in court-

order based treatment settings through in-depth and semi-structured interviews (Merkt et al.,

2021). The interviews were designed to get the true reactions and sort out the nature of

people’s experiences and perceptions. The researchers went a step further by using creative

data collection method to advance the discussion of dual allegiance problem.

c) Researchers proposed a triangle to the patients that showed three dimensions of the

MHP, the patient, medical system, and the justice system. The participants were asked to

indicate their position on the triangle which showed how they related to the entities at

concern (Merkt et al., 2021). Hence, the portrayal stimulated a unique form of self-

consciousness and discussion on internal conflicts arising from dual loyalty dilemmas.

Source: (Merkt et al., 2021)

The interviews were conducted in either of these languages; French, German or Swiss-

German, in order to have a natural conversation and talk sincerely. All interviews were audio-

recorded and later on transcript word-for-word. The interviews in Swiss German were

translated into Standard German for the process of the analysis. Next, the researchers used a

thematic analysis approach in order to analyze the transcripts.(Merkt et al., 2021). The

process demanded a structured procedure for which the text transcripts were coded and the

emerging themes and patterns recognized. We also worked in collaboration with other
 6

researchers for the purpose of cross-checking and to solve any issues that may arise in the

interpretation of the findings.

d) The research brought about some remarkable discoveries that revealed the way

MHPs like forensic psychologists confront and perceive the dual loyalty dilemma within the

confines of a forensic treatment environment. The investigators found that MHPs identified

their role, obligations, and responsibilities in the tribunal relationship to be different. Other

participants were in the medical field where their responsibilities were more on the caregiver

side and others were in law enforcement where the public’s safety was emphasized (Merkt et

al., 2021). Another group of people attempted to unite the two viewpoints, which was through

finding a balance between patient care and the public safety. It turned out that the external

factors, like the situation in the MHP like forensic psychologists, had varying effects on the

MHPs location in the triangle. Within different situations and contexts, MHPs tend to be

more oriented towards either the caregiving or controlling side of the dual role. Thus, it

exposed the evolving challenges of the dual loyalty dilemma and the responsibility of the

MHPs to find the solution which is specific to every situation.

References

CAMH. (n.d.). Facing addiction head on. https://www.camh.ca/

Chamlou, N. (2024, February 27). How to become a forensic psychologist. Psychology.org |

Psychology's Comprehensive Online

Resource. https://www.psychology.org/careers/forensic-psychologist/

Merkt, H., Haesen, S., Eytan, A., Habermeyer, E., Aebi, M. F., Elger, B., & Wangmo, T.

(2021). Forensic mental health professionals’ perceptions of their dual loyalty

conflict: findings from a qualitative study. BMC medical ethics, 22, 1-15.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12910-021-00688-2

Neal, T., & Line, E. N. (2022). Income, demographics, and life experiences of clinical-

forensic psychologists in the United States. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 910672.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.910672

Palo Alto University. (2023, July 3). What do forensic psychologists do | Dr. Paul Johnston.

Thunder Bay Psycholo. https://www.thunderbaypsychology.com/post/forensic-

psychologists-what-do-they-do

Ward, J. T. (2013, September). What is forensic

psychology? https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2013/09/forensic-psychology