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Forensic psychologist: Kelly

This Case Study belongs to Forensic psychologist.

Kelly graduated with a degree in applied forensic psychology.

Kelly’s decision to pursue a career in forensic psychology originated in her long-standing interest in offending behaviour. As part of her degree, accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) , she made a conscious effort to undertake modules concerning criminal behaviour. While at university Kelly became involved in a ‘Youth at Risk’ programme, which provided valuable exposure to the challenges of working with young people at risk of offending. She involved herself in group-based activities concerning issues such as self-esteem and personal development. Kelly also engaged in mentoring activities with young people.

Following graduation, Kelly began to explore career opportunities related to her interest in offending behaviour: youth offending teams, social services, probation service and the prison service. It was the prison service that offered Kelly her first opportunity, working as an OSG (Operational Support Grade). As an OSG Kelly was involved in gate duties, which included searching officers and prison visitors; handing out equipment to members of staff; escorting contractors; and administrative tasks. In terms of developing her appreciation of employment in a secure environment it was an excellent first career step and confirmed her interest in forensic psychology. Being in situ also allowed Kelly to interact with psychology staff and gain a solid understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Indeed it was this contact that helped Kelly to secure a position as an assistant psychologist within the same institution. Her first six months in this role were slightly untypical in that she was involved in a research project. The project concerned ‘adjudications’, which is the term used for arrests in prison. Kelly analysed the rates of adjudications, and subsequent punishments, in relation to ethnicity. This was an opportunity to work across the department and develop her knowledge and contacts. Her remaining time as an assistant psychologist involved more traditional responsibilities in terms of facilitating psychometric tests and undertaking initial interviews with prisoners. This work was done as part of the risk assessment strategy within the institution.

Kelly is currently employed as a trainee forensic psychologist working in a DSPD unit (Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder). This was something that she’d gained some exposure to with her previous employer. Her main responsibilities include:

• Risk assessment
• Treatment needs analysis
• Psychological reports

Risk assessment is at the heart of the public protection aspect of forensic psychology. It is integral to treatment needs analysis in that it establishes a prisoner’s attitude to offending and consequently the most appropriate forms of treatment and intervention. Approaches to treatment are designed in-house and address issues such as problem solving, social skills and conflict resolution. Kelly has significant responsibility for not only delivering these programmes but also devising them. In relation to therapy, an integrated approach is adopted encompassing dialectical behaviour therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy and psychotherapy. Psychological reports are another key aspect to her role. They are required on an annual basis for category A and life sentence prisoners and are instrumental in the re-categorisation of individuals and also in outlining goals for the coming year. Outside the assessment-based work, Kelly is involved in staff training and supervision with the purpose of developing employees’ understanding of issues such as personality disorder. Kelly admitted to particularly enjoying this aspect of her job because it brought her into contact with staff in every aspect of the organisation.

Kelly is in the process of working towards chartered status. For the past two years she has been studying part-time towards the MSc Forensic Psychology. She expects to complete the requirements for Stage 2 within a year of finishing the postgraduate qualification. She admitted that attaining chartered status can be a challenge as your employer, because of the nature of their work and provision, cannot always enable you to meet every aspect of the requirements for chartership set out by the BPS. Studying part-time has been demanding but has also worked very well for Kelly in that her accrued experience, in a prison environment, has helped her to effectively relate theoretical course content to its practical application.

Looking ahead, Kelly expressed strong interest in working with young offenders, particularly in the area of offending behaviour and mental health. In this context she views the NHS as a likely employer. Her advice to potential forensic psychologists is to accrue relevant work experience and research the realities of not only the job but also its professional training requirements, particularly in relation to attaining chartered status.

Case Study sourced by David Henderson of University of Durham, 28 August 2008.