What Are Forensic Psychologists & Psychiatrists?
Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists are mental health professionals who apply the sciences and knowledge of psychology and psychiatry to the criminal justice and legal systems.
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Forensic Psychiatrists
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Forensic psychiatrists are mental health professionals and medical doctors who have completed medical school, internships and residencies in hospitals and/or outpatient settings. They can prescribe drugs.
Forensic Psychologists
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Forensic psychologists are mental health professionals who have training in abnormal and social psychology and in criminal profiling. They cannot prescribe drugs.
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Work Venues
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Forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists work in either correctional institutions or psychiatric hospitals.
Services
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Forensic psychologists and forensic psychiatrists serve as expert witnesses in court, testifying for the defense or prosecution in civil and criminal cases. They may also provide assessments of a defendant's competency to stand trial. In addition, they may assess a suspect's mental state at the time of a crime.
Difference in Approaches
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In "The Criminal Mind," Dr. Katherine Ramsland states forensic psychologists are more likely to deal with patients and determine therapy on an ad hoc, case-by-case basis, rather than follow a forensic psychiatrist's practice of "relying on a strict catalog of traits pre-matched to treatments."
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