Kukor, T. J., Otto, R. K., & Veltri, M. M. (2024).
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.
Advance online publication.
Abstract
Traditional report formats commonly employed to summarize forensic mental health evaluations pose several limitations, including that they implicitly encourage inclusion of irrelevant data and only data that are consistent with one’s opinions and discourage writers from explicitly distinguishing between case data, their inferences, and their reasoning. To remedy these issues, we propose a relevancy-focused (RF) report format, which is a findings-based report style developed specifically for use when summarizing results of forensic psychological evaluations. We describe a practical guide to the critical thinking and rhetorical writing embodied in the RF.
Impact Statement
Forensic psychological evaluations play a key role in civil and criminal litigation, as do the reports that summarize them. Reports must accurately and efficiently communicate the assessment process, the data gathered, and the examiner’s opinions and underlying reasoning. Described in this article is a structure for forensic report writing that was designed specifically with these important obligations in mind.
Here are some thoughts:
Traditional forensic mental health reports often suffer from including irrelevant information, failing to clearly distinguish between facts and interpretations, and neglecting to consider alternative explanations.
The article proposes a Relevancy-Focused (RF) report format:
- This format prioritizes information directly relevant to the legal question.
- It clearly separates evidence from inferences.
- It requires explicit consideration of countervailing data.
- It aims for concise and focused reports.
Benefits of the RF format:
- Improves clarity and focus for readers (judges, attorneys).
- Reduces the risk of including irrelevant or harmful information.
- Enhances the perception of objectivity.
- May lead to fewer court appearances due to clearer reports and less contested findings.
