As a forensic mental health professional, what factors do you need to consider in your psychological testing for the forensic assessment report?

You will select one of the three case vignettes to use for your final course project. The project will be a mock forensic assessment report incorporating the major topics from each module.

For this assignment, analyze the information provided in any of the provided case vignettes and begin to formulate hypotheses based on the referral questions.

Click here to download the case vignettes.

You can identify the referral question from the case vignette you choose. You might also consider the following referral questions in formulating your hypothesis:

• As a forensic mental health professional, what factors do you need to consider in your psychological testing for the forensic assessment report?
• What behavioral observations do you make about the client after reading the case vignette?
• What are your assessment options in working with the client?
• What standard and accepted psychological tests might you apply to your client in forensic settings?
• How will you recognize and evaluate your client’s offender behaviors associated with malingering and deception?

Tasks:

In a 1- to 2-page Microsoft Word document, address the following:

• Describe the case scenario you have selected.
• Identify the reason for a referral.
• Identify the purpose of the forensic assessment and report.
• Present your impressions of the client.
• Describe your professional role and relationship with the court and the third party requesting the assessment or evaluation.
• Explain the hypotheses you have formulated.

Case 1 

Ms. G is a forty-six-year-old Caucasian female charged with burglary. She was arrested for the offense after she was found by the police with her neighbor’s property. She was intoxicated and in possession of drugs at the time of the arrest. She also was belligerent and combative and surprised that she was being accused of a crime. She initiated a physical altercation with the police and was immediately taken into custody with the highest level of constraint to protect her and the officers from potential harm. The officers’ report indicated that Ms. G was irritable, assaultive, hyperactive, and irrational when they approached her. She was also unable to engage in conversation and believed the officers were attempting to poison her. Her energy level was excessively high, and she emphatically stated that she knew the mayor personally and would have the officers and prosecutor incarcerated for accusing her of this crime. She refused defense counsel and insisted on speaking to the judge before her pretrial. While incarcerated, she rallied the other inmates to protest the rules and initiated a hunger strike. She became more paranoid while in the holding cell, suggesting that the police planted drugs on her and were attempting to locate and kill her only remaining family member. They were, in fact, attempting to contact her brother to gather information on her mental health. Her brother provided them with relevant family history. He indicated that Ms. G had lost her parents at an early age and was separated from her brother when they went into foster care. Her brother had had minimal contact with her from the time she was four years old until she turned eighteen and found him with the help of a private investigator. They maintained only intermittent contact because Ms. G was transient, moving around the country on a regular basis. She held odd jobs, sold drugs, and lived with boyfriends to survive. To her brother’s knowledge, Ms. G had never received any mental health treatment. She also denied a history treatment. She refused to speak with the police about her charges and personal history.

Ms. G faces a trial for her offense because she refused a plea bargain. She also refused defense counsel when it was offered.

Determine what type of forensic assessment would be most appropriate for this case and discuss the rationale for your decision.

Your choices are:

• Competency to stand trial
• Substance abuse evaluation
• Not guilty by reason of insanity
• Mental health treatment evaluation