Dual-Role Conflict
Definition
The professional conflict arising when a forensic psychologist simultaneously holds a therapeutic and an evaluative relationship with the same individual; addressed under APA Specialty Guidelines 2013 Section 4.02.
- Field
- Forensic psychology
- Governing rule
- APA Specialty Guidelines 2013, Section 4.02
- Roles in tension
- Treating therapist vs forensic evaluator
Common questions
Why do the APA guidelines discourage a psychologist from being both therapist and evaluator?+
A treating relationship depends on trust and unconditional support, while an evaluative role requires detached, objective assessment for the court. Holding both roles for one person risks the psychologist's therapeutic alliance and the court's confidence in the evaluation's neutrality.
What is the recommended solution when a treating clinician is asked to also perform a forensic evaluation?+
Section 4.02 recommends referring the evaluation to an independent forensic examiner rather than combining the roles. If separation is impossible, the psychologist should disclose the conflict to the court and explain its likely effect on the opinion offered.
Related terms
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- Court-Appointed Expert
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- CPR Part 35
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- Expert Witness Duty to Court
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- Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 702
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- Insanity Defense Reform Act 1984
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- Party-Retained Expert
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- R V. Mohan 1994
- Canadian Supreme Court decision establishing a four-factor admissibility test for expert evidence: relevance, necessity, absence of an exclusionary rule, and a properly...
- Ultimate-Issue Rule
- The traditional prohibition on an expert stating an opinion on the very factual question the court must decide, on the ground that...