PSY 8350 Capella University Final Forensic Evaluation Report

Context

The purpose of this assignment is to complete a final draft of the forensic evaluation that you selected in u05a1 from the following five options:

• Competency to stand trial.
• Child custody.
• Parenting fitness.
• Mitigation of penalty.
• Recidivism potential (such as a violence risk assessment or a sexual risk assessment).

Instructions

In this final draft of your forensic evaluation, you will expand upon your work in u07a1, adding details—most importantly, a diagnosis and opinion section. The final paper should include your work from u05a1 as well as the new information that follows. A forensic evaluation generally has all of these elements, although some evaluators may provide more background information on the evaluee than others—many examples of forensic evaluations are provided in Chapter 19 of your Melton textbook (linked in Resources). Include the following:

1. Introduction
2. Informed Consent
3. Background Information
   • Briefly describe the fictional evaluee’s social, educational, occupational, substance use, medical, and psychiatric history.
   • Include mock collateral information obtained during the course of the evaluation.
4. Mental Status Examination
   • Using a formal mini-mental-status exam, describe your mock client’s performance on domains such as orientation, immediate recall, attention and calculation, recall, language, judgment, ability to abstract, and intelligence.
5. Interview Questions
6. Test Battery
7. Diagnosis
   • Provide a thorough DSM-5 diagnosis for your mock client.
8. Opinion
   • Provide a defensible forensic opinion that relates to the legal question asked.
   • Justify your opinion.

Note: A sample forensic evaluation is linked in Resources to assist in formatting your evaluation; note that your forensic evaluation does not require the same level of detail in the background history.

Objectives

Your assignment should fulfill the following objectives:

1. A forensic evaluation appropriate to the age and gender of the fictional evaluee.
2. A description of the evaluee’s relevant history and personal characteristics.
3. An explanation of all aspects of informed consent pertaining to this evaluation.
4. A description of the fictional evaluee’s performance on a formal mini-mental-status exam.
5. A thorough DSM-5 diagnosis for the fictional evaluee.
6. A justification of a forensic opinion addressing the legal question asked.
7. Communication that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for members of the psychological professions.

Additional Requirements

In addition to the above objectives, your assignment should meet the following requirements:

• Written communications are free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Formatting: current edition APA style and format.
• Length of paper: 10–12 pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 points.