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FORENSIC SPECIALIZATION
About the Program
The Forensic specialization is designed to provide an opportunity for
clinical students to develop a more intensive academic focus and clinical
experience in Forensic psychology without sacrificing the integrity
of a general clinical training. Although fulfilling the requirements
of the Forensic specialization does not in itself correspond to "expertise"
in forensic psychology, the curriculum is sufficient to provide a student
with exposure to a range of topics within forensic psychology and forms
an excellent background for further work (research and clinical) in
this area. Students concentrating in Forensic Psychology are encouraged
to join the academic organizations most relevant to their interests
(see below), attend national and international conferences (to present
their research findings, learn about current developments in the field,
and network with graduate students from other forensic psychology programs),
and participate in forensic psychology internet list-serves. Unlike
some "forensic psychology" graduate programs, the Forensic
specialization does not sacrifice any of the requirements of the general
clinical training program. Instead, the specialization enables students
to focus their elective coursework, externship placements, and research
projects in order to develop competency in forensic psychology. Students
completing this specialization will be able to compete for highly selective
forensic internships and post-doctoral fellowships, as well as entry-level
forensic clinical positions. The Forensic specialization is co-directed
by Barry Rosenfeld and Keith Cruise.
Requirements
The requirements of the Forensic specialization are the following:
- Courses (at least 3 out of 5):
- Psychology and Criminal Law (Rosenfeld/Cohen) *
- Psychology and Civil Law (Rosenfeld/Cohen) *
- Trauma and Family Violence (Staff)
- Forensic Assessment (Rosenfeld)
- Adolescent Problem Behavior (Staff)
* courses jointly coordinated with Fordham Law School
- Externship
At least one year of clinical externship in a forensic facility (including,
but not limited to the following sites):
- Bedford Hills Women's Correctional Center (Women's Prison)
- Bellevue Hospital Center (Impatient Forensic Unit or Court Clinic)
- Elmhurst Hospital Center (Women's Forensic Unit)
- King's County Psychiatric Center (Inpatient Forensic Unit)
- Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center (Maximum Security Forensic
Hospital)
- Lincoln Square Legal Services Criminal Law Clinic
- Metropolitan Correctional Center (Federal Prison and Evaluation
Center)
- Riker’s Island Correctional Health Services (City Jail)
- Research Project
2nd year project or dissertation on a topic within Forensic psychology,
under the guidance of any of the Specialization Faculty (Drs. Rosenfeld,
Bernstein, and Fisher)
Note that the Forensic concentration, like the other concentrations
within the Clinical Psychology program (Neuropsychology/Health and Child/Family)
does not accept applications per se. These concentrations are available
to ANY interested doctoral student within the Clinical Psychology program.
Interested applicants must apply to the Clinical Psychology Doctoral
program. Those students seeking additional information are encouraged
to contact one of the faculty members directly (preferably via email).
Program Faculty
Dr. Barry Rosenfeld is a board certified (by
the American Board of Professional Psychology), forensic psychologist
with extensive experience evaluating criminal defendants and civil litigants.
Before joining the Fordham faculty, Dr. Rosenfeld was a Senior Psychologist
and Director of Education and Training for the New York City Forensic
Psychology Clinic, a division of Bellevue Hospital. He has published
numerous articles on topics within Forensic psychology, including empirical
studies on the clinical assessment of competence to stand trial and
criminal responsibility, risk assessment and treatment of stalkers,
malingering, competence to make treatment decisions, physician-assisted
suicide, and the effects of violence on psychological functioning. He
currently maintains a private practice, specializing in forensic assessment
and providing expert testimony.
Dr. Keith Cruise is a licensed clinical psychologist and specializes in the clinical evaluation and treatment of youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Dr. Cruise is an active member of the American Psychology Law Society and the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services. He has published articles and co-authored book chapters in the area of forensic psychology with a specific emphasis on clinical-forensic evaluations of juvenile offenders with topics including mental health screening of juvenile offenders, psychosocial maturity and legal decision-making, juvenile psychopathy, juvenile risk assessment, and specialized risk assessment of juvenile sexual offenders. Prior to joining the Department of Psychology, Dr. Cruise was working within the Louisiana juvenile secure custody system providing a combination of clinical service delivery and program evaluation/research of mental health programs implemented within secure institutions. He maintains an active clinical practice that includes conducting clinical assessments of juvenile offenders, providing expert testimony, and delivering consultation and training services to juvenile justice programs
Dr. Celia B. Fisher, Director of the Fordham
University Center for Ethics Education and Professor of Psychology,
is current Chair of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Ethics
Code Revisions Task Force, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the
APA Insurance Trust specializing in professional liability insurance,
and a member of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Data
Safety and Monitoring Board. She has written commissioned papers on
ethics involving research with children, ethnic minority groups, persons
with cognitive impairments, and individuals at suicidal risk for the
President's National Bioethics Advisory Commission [NBAC] and the National
Institutes of Health (NIMH) and coordinated the recent Ethics Center,
APA, and NIMH co-sponsored conference on "Research Ethics for Mental
Health Science Involving Ethnic Minority Children and Youth." Dr.
Fisher has served as Chair of the New York State Board for Licensure
in Psychology, Chair of the Society for Research in Child Development
Committee for Ethical Conduct in Child Development Research, and member
of the APA Ethics Committee. She has served as an expert witness in
national and international cases involving child sexual abuse and sexual
harassment in the schools. Her current research and scholarship include
studies on racial discrimination, the consent of children and adults
with impaired cognitive capacity to provide informed consent for research
and treatment, the validity of child abuse assessment techniques, community
perspectives on socially sensitive research, and ethical issues in randomized
clinical trials involving suicidality.
Resources
Forensic Psychology Journals
Aggression and Violent Behavior
Behavioral Sciences and the Law
Child Abuse and Neglect
Criminal Justice and Behavior
International Journal of Forensic Mental Health Services
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
Journal of Forensic Sciences
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Law and Human Behavior
Legal and Criminological Psychology
Psychology, Crime, and Law
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
Forensic Psychology Organizations
American Academy of
Forensic Psychology
American Academy of Forensic
Sciences
American Academy of Psychiatry and Law
American Psychology-Law Society (APA
Division 41)
European
Association of Psychology and Law
International Association
of Forensic Mental Health Services
Law and Society
Association
Society for the Psychological
Study of Social Issues (APA Division 9)
Forensic Information/Literature Sources
Anti-stalking
website
Child Abuse Prevention
Network
FBI Uniform
Crime Reports (national crime statistics resource)
Institute of
Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, University of Virginia
Juris.net
(free search engine for legal information)
Legal Information
Institute (Cornell Law School resource for Supreme Court and Circuit
Court decisions
MacArthur Research
Network on Mental Health and the Law
Mental Health, Law
and Policy Institute (Simon Fraser University)
National Center for Victims
of Crime
National
Child Protection Clearinghouse (database on child abuse statistics)
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention
Physician-Assisted
Suicide web resources
Psylaw-l
(internet list-serve for forensic psychology)
State
Government and Court links
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