As in its first edition, this book offers a conceptual model for understanding the nature of legal competencies. The model is interpreted to assist mental health professionals in designing and performing assessments for legal competencies defined in criminal and civil law, and to guide research that will improve the practice of evaluations for legal competencies. A special feature is the book's evaluative review of specialized forensic assessment instruments for each of several legal competencies. Three-fourths of the 37 instruments reviewed in the second edition are new and thus were not reviewed in the first edition.
Application of the assessment model and reviews of instruments are provided for six areas of legal competence: -Competence to Stand Trial; -Waiver of Rights to Silence and Legal Counsel; -Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity; -Parenting Capacity - Determination of Child Custody; -Guardianship and Conservatorship; and -Competence to Consent to Treatment.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
a masterpiece:
continues to integrate and expand upon what is currently at issue in the new field of forensic psychology. next time I teach forensic psych on the undergraduate level, will use much of this text
Outstanding resource for all psychologists / evaluators:
This book is extremely thorough yet easy to use. It came highly recommended by two very respected (well published, board certified, etc)professors I worked under as part of my clincal internship. My primary duites are not as a forensic psychologist; however, I have found in the couse of my work for an Outpatient Community Mental Health center that one can never really avoid forensic / competency issues and related evaluations. I have referred to this text often in the year since I purchased it; this book... more info
Excerpt of review from Book Reviews:
"The first edition of this book was a classic, widely cited both for its analysis of forensic assessment instruments and for Grisso's integrative theory of forensic evaluation. With the second edition, Evaluating Competencies remains a classic. I expect that whenever a forensic psychologist of psychiatrist prepares for an advanced examination in this specialty, this book will-or should-be one of the first books reviewed." Philip H. Witt, Ph.D. Clinical Associate Dept. of Psychiatry
