Clinical Forensic Psychology: An Introduction

Clinical Forensic Psychology: An Introduction provides students with a succinct and practical overview of the discipline. The text features a distinct focus on the practice of forensic psychology and on the American and Canadian legal parameters that govern that practice.

The book covers a diverse range of topics that are organized into four parts. Part I features a brief historical overview of clinical forensic psychology-from its academic origins to its relationship with psychiatry-and clearly defines the field. Part II reviews psychology's relationship with the law, including paradigm conflicts, expertise under the law, and the ultimate issue problem. The foundations of forensic mental health assessment are also reviewed.

In Parts III and IV, the text focuses on clinical activities in civil, criminal, and family court contexts. Part III is concerned exclusively with the criminal justice system and examines risk assessment, adjudicative competence, criminal responsibility, and sentencing evaluations, as well as issues associated with the special populations of juvenile, female, and sexual offenders. In Part IV, the chapters focus on civil and family court issues, with chapters covering psychological injury assessment, civil competency evaluations, parenting capacity, and child custody assessments.

Marc Nesca is a clinical forensic psychologist and associate professor in the Criminal Justice Program at Athabasca University. Dr. Nesca has provided diagnostic, forensic, and neuropsychological consultation services to federal correctional institutions, in-patient general psychiatry units, and both in-patient and out-patient forensic psychiatry programs. He has conducted thousands of assessments involving such issues as criminal responsibility, adjudicative competence, and risk for re-offense. Dr. Nesca has been qualified as an expert in professional disciplinary hearings, federal inquiries, immigration and refugee hearings, Youth Court, Family Court, Provincial Court, and Court of Queen's Bench.