Competency of Psychologists as Expert Witnesses

• Practitioner Psychologists must maintain current HCPC registration which requires professionals to demonstrate professional training, competence and continuing professional development (CPD) in their field of expertise
• Academic Psychologists should be/or be eligible to be Chartered Members of the BPS based on their research expertise in a specific area of Psychology
• Feedback should be routinely available following each case to enable ongoing professional development
• If the Court has significant concerns about an expert’s report, it should be fed back to the Psychologist in the first instance in order for them to respond and address the concerns
• If feedback is not adequately resolved, the Court should consider whether there is a need to refer the matter to the appropriate regulatory, Chartering or employing body
• Prior to instruction, the Psychologist should be prepared to discuss whether his or her areas of expertise are appropriate to the proposed instructions
• The Psychologist should be able to demonstrate appropriate expertise in relation to the specific issues or conditions of the case
• Although there is no requirement to demonstrate employment in the NHS, engagement in practice outside a Family Court context is likely to assist in being able to demonstrate experience of working with a broad cross section of society for comparisons to be made
• The Psychologist must indicate their competency through; qualifications/degrees in the areas in question; duration of post doctorate/ qualification experience; academic, professional and scientific publications; demonstrations of professional practice, competence, specialist knowledge and expertise with a bearing upon the issues in the case
• Whilst protected titles provide a good indication of the core competencies of the expert Psychologist, if they have specialist expertise or knowledge of the issues in the case, they may be instructed on that basis
• As well as professional knowledge and skills, the Psychologist must demonstrate CPD in relation to court work
  Psychological assessments must be informed by the latest evidence in the field. This includes the use of the most up to date and relevant assessments and test based on accepted professional and academic opinion
• Individuals who are not qualified or eligible for registration with the HCPC or Chartered status with the BPS may still be appointed at the Court’s discretion but it must be clear that such experts are not appointed as Expert Psychologists but under the auspices of other professional frameworks, e.g. Social Worker with additional psychological qualifications
• The use of an assistant is permitted for data gathering only and any formulation must be carried out by the expert Psychologist
• The use of psychometric tests must comply with the International Guidelines for Test use (2000) and where specialist training is required to administer specific tests, this should be evidenced
• Psychologists who use tests are required to respect the confidentiality of test materials and to avoid release of test materials into the public domain