Frequently Asked Questions

Inquiries regarding careers in forensic psychology should be directed to the American Psychology-Law Society.

“The American Board of Professional Psychology(ABPP) provides oversight, certifying psychologists competent to deliver high quality services in various specialty areas of psychology. The ABPP diploma has been recognized by judicial decisions, regulations, and statutes in some jurisdictions as the standard of professional competence in forensic psychology. It is the only post-doctoral specialty certification recognized in the American Psychological Association Directory.

Board certification is not required of psychologists but is an additional, voluntary process that one goes through to demonstrate competency in a specialty area. Psychologists board certified through ABPP have undergone review of their education, training, and experience, as well as additional written testing, and have had samples of their work peer-reviewed by board certified forensic psychologists. They have also passed a face-to-face examination by board certified forensic psychologists.” It is a rigorous process that so far only a handful of forensic psychologists in Tennessee have passed. (Text adapted from the ABPP website.)

The Psy.D. degree is a doctorate that certifies attainment of the knowledge and skills required to practice clinical psychology as a profession. Psy.D. programs focus their training on the practice of clinical psychology, whereas Ph.D. programs typically focus much more on research in the field of clinical psychology. Dr. Gallagher is a graduate of one of the highest ranked university-based Psy.D. programs in the United States.

Please have your attorney contact Dr. Gallagher directly. Dr. Gallagher works directly for attorneys and the court, not the individuals who are involved in the justice system. Your attorney can explain why this is important.

No. Insurance does not cover forensic evaluations. As this is the vast majority of her practice, Dr. Gallagher is not on any insurance boards.

Based on the existing research, a referral should be carefully considered when the juvenile is:

• Age 14 years old or younger
• Has a prior diagnosis/treatment for mental illness or intellectual disability
• Has been diagnosed with borderline intellectual functioning (IQ<80) or a past diagnosis of Learning Disability
• Observations by the attorney or others at pretrial events suggest problems with memory, attention, or interpretation of reality

“Red flags” may be that the juvenile is having:

• Difficulty communicating information
• Difficulty understanding attorney
• Disorganized speech
• Peculiar statements
• Responding to voices
• Chaotic and/or bizarre behavior
• Easily confused
• Detached and/or indifferent
• Severely depressed
• Hostile and/or aggressive
• Inattentive and/or distracted
• Oppositional and/or defiant
• Immature and/or infantile

Sources of incompetency typically stem from an interaction between the juvenile’s specific traits and the specifics of the legal situation. According to the research, individual sources of incompetency may include:

• Low intelligence
• Learning problems
• Poor reasoning/decision-making ability
• Poor abstraction ability
• Memory impairment
• Disorganized thinking
• Inattention/poor concentration
• Verbal expression problems
• Acute hallucinations/delusions
• Behavioral dyscontrol
• Poor interpersonal relatedness
• Lack of motivation/self-defeating
• Amnesia for offense
• Oppositionality/Anger control problems

Situational sources of incompetency may include that:

• Plea bargaining is likely
• The alleged fact pattern is complex
• The evidence against the youth is unclear
• Hearing(s) are likely to be lengthy
• Hearing(s) are likely to involve many witnesses
• The juvenile is likely to pursue a complex defense
• Testimony by the juvenile is likely

Absolutely not. Eliciting a defendant’s version of events early in the legal process is advisable to guard against inaccurate or incomplete recall due to normal forgetting and changes in circumstance and mental status. See Dr. Gallagher’s peer-reviewed journal article on this topic or contact her directly for consultation.