Postgraduate Certificate in Forensic Psychology

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D 1

A Proposal for a

Postgraduate Certificate in Forensic Psychology

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

The City University of New York

Draft #4

March 9, 2009

Contact Person:

James S. Wulach, Ph.D., J.D.

Director, MA Program in

Forensic Mental Health Counseling

Phone: (212) 237-8782

Email:

Purpose

This proposal describes the establishment of a state-registered Postgraduate Certificate Program in Forensic Psychology, within the Psychology Department of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. Students receiving the certificate will be credentialed with postgraduate documentation of coursework within one of the following six forensic psychology tracks:

·  Psychological Assessment and Forensic Psychology;

·  Family Violence and Victims;

·  Forensic Counseling and Psychotherapy;

·  Research in Forensic Psychology;

·  Selected Topics in Forensic Psychology;

·  Forensic Psychological Assessment and Testimony

The Program is designed primarily for licensed or licensable mental health professionals and researchers who have already received a terminal degree in their field, (e.g. a doctorate in psychology, an MSW, an RN, or an MA in Mental Health Counseling); but who wish to receive more specific education in the field of forensic psychology, as most mental health training programs do not focus on this area. The Program will utilize faculty primarily within the John Jay College Psychology Department, who teach in the MA Programs in Forensic Psychology and/or Forensic Mental Health Counseling.

John Jay College is particularly well situated to offer a certificate program in forensic psychology, and it is likely to be the premier program with this focus in the country. The Psychology Department alone has over 35 full-time faculty who specialize in forensic areas, including 6 members who are both attorneys and psychologists, and three Distinguished Professors. The Criminal Justice Program likewise has a large full-time faculty, including two Distinguished Professors. The President of John Jay College, a former Director of the National Institute of Justice, is a nationally recognized expert in the area of prisoner re-entry into society, a crucial area desperately in need of trained psychologists. The proposed new certificate has support from the President and Provost of the College, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the John Jay College Psychology Department.

John Jay College already has an MA Program in Forensic Psychology which offers 75 course sections per semester for over 400 students from across the United States and many other countries; an MA Program in Forensic Mental Health Counseling, with 75 students; and a BA Program in Forensic Psychology that has over 1500 majors. The MA Programs in conjunction with the Addiction Studies Program, offers students the opportunity to complete the education and training requirements for the Credential in Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (CASAC) while attending John Jay College.

The CUNY Doctoral Programs in both Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice are housed on the John Jay Campus, and provide additional resources and faculty depth. The John Jay College Library is recognized as having the most thorough collection of criminal justice-related materials in the country. Thus, for the purpose of postgraduate forensic psychology specialization for psychologists, social workers and counselors, John Jay College of Criminal Justice is the ideal location.

Educational Goals

1.  To prepare those mental health professionals who wish to develop knowledge in the area of forensic assessment and testimony, with coursework that focuses on an overview of psychology, law and ethics; followed by study of the primary psychological interviewing skills, tests and instruments currently used in forensic practice, including a critique of such assessment procedures.

2.  To prepare those mental health professionals and researchers who wish to develop knowledge in the area of family and domestic violence and victims, with coursework that initially focuses on an overview of psychology, law and ethics; followed by study of the field of domestic violence; and the study of assessment, counseling and treatment of victims and perpetrators.

3.  To prepare those mental health professionals who wish to develop knowledge in the area of forensic counseling and psychotherapy, with coursework that initially focuses on an overview of psychology, law and ethics; followed by study of the counseling and treatment of adults, juveniles and sex offenders.

4.  To provide those mental health professionals and researchers who wish to develop their research skills in forensic psychology, with coursework that initially focuses on an overview of psychology, law and ethics; followed by courses that emphasize empirical research in the area, and culminate in supervised research and paper writing under the direction of a faculty research mentor.

5.  To prepare those mental health professionals who wish to develop knowledge of individualized topics within the field of forensic psychology, outside of a designated track, to design a course sequence, in conjunction with the Program Director, that fits their particular needs and interests. Such topics might include such fields as profiling; alcohol and drug abuse, etc.

Background and Need

Forensic psychology broadly refers to the application of psychological insights, concepts and skills to the understanding and functioning of the legal and criminal justice system. It embraces psychology and the law; assessment and expert testimony; victims, family violence, and the courts; eyewitness identification and jury research; corrections, probation, parole and reentry counseling; and other related areas. The forensic psychology certificate program will allow psychologists, social workers, counselors and others, who wish to specialize in their field with forensic training, to complete a concentration in the area of their choice.

The US Department of Labor estimates that the number of mental health counselors will grow from 85,000 to 107,000 between 2002-2012, an increase of 26.7%[1]. The Department projects that the number of social workers is expected to grow 22% from 2006-2016. The psychology profession is expected to grow 15 percent in the same time period, from 166,000 to 191,000 psychologists. The combined need for and increase in mental health professionals compares favorably to the total growth estimate in all occupations of 14.8%.

The need for specialized training for mental health professionals working in forensic contexts is expected to be even higher. A survey by the Psychology Department at John Jay College found that 10 percent of all job advertisements in the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology were for forensic positions. An online listserv request to doctoral members of the New York State Psychological Association, asking for interest in possibly matriculating in the proposed Forensic Psychology Postgraduate Certificate Program, received 16 positive expressions of interest. Recently created forensic journals reflect the growing interest in and importance of specialization in forensic psychology, as well: These include Law & Human Behavior, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Psychology Public Policy and the Law, Psychology, Crime & Law and Criminological Psychology.

Yet there are very limited opportunities for training in forensic psychology, and most job holders learn piecemeal, on the job, with occasional continuing education workshops, sponsored typically by professional psychology associations, picking up the slack. This need reflects the strong interest in John Jay College’s MA Program in Forensic Psychology, which has grown from 75 students in 1983 to 450 students currently, offering 80 courses per semester, with fifty percent of those matriculating from other states or countries.

The following additional colleges offer Master’s Programs in forensic psychology, many of which have been created in the last ten years in professional psychology programs outside of traditional academic universities, in response to the growing market for specialized forensic psychology training: Chicago School of Professional Psychology; Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology; Forest Institute of Professional Psychology; Argosy University (several locations); California Baptist University, School of Behavioral Sciences; University of Denver, Graduate School of Professional Psychology; Old Dominion University, College of Sciences; Marymount University, School of Education and Human Services; University of the Rockies; Colorado School of Professional Psychology; Farleigh Dickinson University; American International College; Castleton State College; University of South Carolina, College of Criminal Justice; Seattle University, College of Arts & Sciences; and the University of Denver, Graduate School of Professional Psychology.

In addition, there are a few schools of social work that offer forensic social work courses as a focus within the MSW, including the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Social Work, University of Southern California, School of Social Work, and Georgia State School of Social Work.

There are also a very limited number of doctoral programs in forensic psychology in the United States, with programs at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology; Forest Institute of Professional Psychology; Argosy University; Nova Southeastern University, Center for Psychological Studies; Alliant International University; Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology; Old Dominion University, College of Sciences; University of the Rockies: Colorado School of Professional Psychology; Widener University; University of Denver, Graduate School of Professional Psychology; Sam Houston State University (forensic concentration), Drexel University (forensic concentration), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, and the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. As is true with MA programs, many of the available doctoral programs are based in non-university professional psychology programs.

Interest in doctoral training in the forensic psychology field is reflected in the application statistics for the doctoral program at John Jay College for the 2008 academic year. Although the program only began in 2003, 175 students applied for admissions for the 2008-2009 academic year, 19 were given offers, and 15 accepted. Obviously, strong interest in forensic psychology training far exceeds available resources.

Aside from master’s and doctoral level programs in forensic psychology, the primary academic training alternative, is that of a certificate program to provide forensic specialization courses to those already trained as generalists in their respective professions. Currently, there are only a very few such academic certificate programs available, with limited course openings and small enrollments, mainly at schools of professional psychology: Chicago School of Professional Psychology; Forest Institute of Professional Psychology; Argosy University; Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology; and the University of the Rockies: Colorado School of Professional Psychology.

Such certificate programs are not typically oriented to the retraining of licensed mental health professionals. For example, at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, the certificate program is open to anyone with a BA, and oriented to corrections professionals, probation officers and victim assistance professionals. The coursework is limited, and the program can be completed in five months.

A second model of certificate training is based upon the continuing education approach offered by professional mental health associations. The American Counseling Association, the primary national organization representing counselors, has recognized the need for specialized forensic training by recently creating a partnership with the National Board of Forensic Evaluators to provide a forensic certification process for licensed counselors and other licensed mental health professionals, although the certificate only requires 30 hours of training, the equivalent of one academic 3-credit course.[2] There is no board certification currently available specifically in forensic social work, although the National organization of Forensic Social Work has recently been established to provide training in that area.

Both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association offer diplomate certification in forensics outside of traditional academic settings; and the training is based more on a medical model similar to a hospital-based psychiatric residency than on an academic model emanating from a university psychology department. Thus, the American Psychiatric Association Board Certification in Forensic Psychiatry requires an exam following a year of additional full-time training beyond the psychiatry residency, in which the psychiatric fellow works in a supervised forensic setting associated with a teaching hospital. As of the year 2000, there were approximately 500 identified Board Certified forensic psychiatrists.[3]

The American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP) offers a Diploma in Forensic Psychology to those that meet its requirements for achieving Specialty Board Certification. It requires that applicants pass both a written and oral examination after 1000 hours of qualifying experience in forensic psychology over a five-year period; plus 100 hours of forensic psychology supervision, continuing activities and/or coursework classroom activities at a graduate or postgraduate level. The five-year experience requirement can be substituted by completion of a postdoctoral fellowship that includes 2000 hours of training in conjunction with coursework, typically in a hospital-based forensic setting similar to that for psychiatrists.

There are only a few such approved psychology fellowships, often dependent upon annual funding, that typically enroll one or two fellows per year.[4] Such fellowships have included such sites as The Center for Forensic Psychiatry, in Ypsilanti Michigan; the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Patton State Postdoctoral Fellowship (CA), University of Massachusetts Medical Program, University of Southern California, Western State Hospital, and the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center. As of 2003, the ABFP Diploma had been awarded to only 200 forensic psychology diplomates in the United States. As Packer and Borum discuss, the diplomate was only designed to certify advanced practitioners in psychology, but not those at a “basic or journeyman level of competence.”[5]

In summary, there is currently a strong national need for the training of mental health professionals (MHPs) generally, and for forensically educated MHPs, in particular. Most degree programs at the MA and Ph.D. level, whether for psychologists, social workers or counselors, do not offer specialization in forensic mental health, rarely offering more than a course or two in this area. There are only a limited number of academic programs that offer forensic specialization, mostly housed in freestanding professional schools rather than universities. The most comprehensive, such as the master’s and doctoral programs in forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, have reflected the strong need for such training in their phenomenal growth in recent years.

On the other hand, the most prominent postdoctoral certification programs, aside from occasional continuing-education workshops sponsored by professional associations, are designed mainly for advanced practitioners rather than for those wishing to achieve entry or intermediate levels of forensic competency, and they consequently train and certify very few individuals.

Consequently, there is a strong need for a new type of forensic psychology certificate program that will provide postgraduate training for MHPs in the forensic specialization of their choice. Such MHPs have already graduated from existing programs that did not offer competent forensic training, and they now wish to develop additional specialized skills within the scope of their completed degree. Such a program will be much more thorough than typical continuing education workshops offered by professional associations; yet it will not be as burdensome as the limited diplomate and board certification programs offered by the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Board of Forensic Psychology, which are designed to certify advanced practitioners with extensive forensic experience, rather than to offer coursework to those wishing to develop entry level and intermediate forensic expertise.