What Does a Typical Day Look Like for a Forensic Psychologist?

If you have ever thought about becoming a forensic psychologist, you may be wondering what types of daily activities your work would involve. By reading the information found below, you can obtain an answer to this question and several others that pertain to the position of a forensic psychologist.

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The Forensic Psychologist-A Brief Overview

Forensic psychology is a field that melds the study of law and psychology. The forensic psychologist can work in a plethora of settings, including police departments, rehabilitation centers, jails, prisons, schools, law firms, and government agencies. Additionally, they can work directly with defendants, attorneys, offenders, pupils, families, victims, or patients in the state’s rehabilitation or corrections centers. Forensic psychologists can also work in government agencies, universities, colleges or other environments that place primacy on examining and researching the interaction between human behavior, the legal system, and criminology. 

The Forensic Psychologist-A Typical Day

Because forensic psychologists can work in a plethora of settings and for a wide range of people, there is not one typical day that can be used to describe what individuals in this field do on a daily basis. In fact, even forensic psychologists who work within the same field of expertise will often find that their daily responsibilities are vastly different. Despite the fact that it is difficult to define the daily life of a forensic psychologist, however, individuals who hold this position can expect to perform the following functions in a given day:

•Completing one-on-one assessments (Oftentimes, the purpose of these assessments is to determine risks for re-offense of individuals who have been serving lifetime sentences and will soon be released into the general community, or for individuals who are at risk of committing suicide) 
•Presenting the findings from the assessments to the appropriate staff 
•Offering advice to prison governors regarding incidents
•Developing and subsequently evaluating assessment techniques like psychometrics
•Completing research projects for the purpose of evaluating the contributions made by specific policy initiatives, service elements, or group program developments
•Exploring probation drop-out rates, evaluating the efficacy of anger management programs, and/or investigating the impact that bullying has within the prison setting 
•Participating in the management or delivery of cognitive-behavioral group programs (such as those that involve enhancing participant thinking skills, or handling severe personality disorders) 
•Monitoring and checking treatment groups to ensure that they meet established standards 
•Presiding over the training processes of the probation staff
•Preparing risk assessment reports
•Overseeing the attainment of support services during serious incidents
•Hostage negotiation work
•Working with and offering consultant services to prison officers, hospital staff, probation officers, social workers, the police, university staff, and representatives from the legal and judicial systems 
•Attending team meetings

Salary

If you find that the daily tasks involved in the work of a forensic psychologist to be interesting, you may want to know about the average annual salary you could expect to bring in with this position. According to Indeed.com, a forensic psychologist can expect to earn about $77,000 each year. 

Conclusion

If you find the world of forensic psychology to be interesting, you may want to seriously consider becoming a forensic psychologist. Now that you are aware of the daily responsibilities that a forensic psychologist is typically expected to perform, you can make an informed decision regarding whether this career path would be right for you.

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Related Resource: Average Salary of an Online Psychology Degree Graduate