A therapist may collaborate with other professionals, such as physicians, social workers, nurses and other psychologists in order to best serve the offenders’ needs.
In order for this specialized therapy to be as effective as possible, it demands the compliance of not only the patient and therapist, but of the rest of society as well.
These secondary roles are often involved with the criminal justice system- for example, forensic psychologists often will step in as an expert witness, being called upon to testify in court about a topic in which they have a specialized knowledge.
Much of the time, once an assessment has been made by the forensic psychologist, they are then asked to testify in court as an expert witness about their findings.
[10] Police departments, research centers, hospitals, medical examiners offices and universities are also settings in which forensic psychologists are often employed.
Working from the premise that the offender has a complex internal world which may be characterized by punitive and unreliable internal representations of paternal and other figures, psychotherapy can shed light on the unconscious impulses, conflicts, and primitive defense mechanisms, involved in his or her destructive actions and "acting out".
The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy, as is the case with other psychological therapies, is limited far as behavioral change for antisocial personality or psychopathic offenders.
These two types of offenders comprise the primary diagnostic group found in forensic psychotherapy work.
Among clinicians there are prejudices that judges see the analysis of unconscious motivations as simply adminshing the guilt of the offender and as a means of working around legal systems.
[2] Because of the scenarios in which forensic psychotherapy is utilized often times the patient-offender will face punishment for their crimes just as they are prepared to undergo proper treatment.
[2] Another controversy that affects the development of forensic psychotherapy is the publics perception of an offender, especially those involved in serious crimes like pedophilia.
In 1931, a group of individuals who established the Association for the Scientific Treatment of Delinquency and Crime developed Forensic Therapy at the Portman Clinic in London.
Determined to influence and enhance the understanding of this method of treatment, the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy (IAFP) was formed in June 1991 and is still active today.
In 1994 the Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Divorce Proceedings was adopted by the APA Council of Representatives to promote proficiency.