Recently, one of our mentors was asked a really great question. A student inquired about whether politics impact the testimony experts deliver. The official answer is no.

The services conducted by forensic psychologists involved the application of a well-accepted methodology reliably applied to the details of the case.

Now, it is important to know that politics as a cultural issue should and will impact the expert’s case formulation. However, it is not the expert’s culture or political leanings that should drive the opinions. Rather, it should be the examinee’s culture and political leanings that should be factored into a comprehensive case formulation in the context of a forensic mental health assessment. However, it should not be factored into our reliable application of forensic mental health assessment methodology or our testimony depending on our personal political leanings.