Insanity evaluations are one of the hallmarks of forensic psychology. It is not a frequently raised defense because it can be extremely difficult to establish. Evaluators review records and other collateral information. Then they meet with the defendant to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the defendant’s thinking and behavior before, during, and after the offense. Sometimes this includes administering psychological and neuropsychological tests. Today, I talked with Dr. Michael Collins about insanity evaluations and

-training needed to perform these evaluations

-ethical considerations like managing bias

-a systemic approach to these kinds of evaluations

-why neuropsychological measures may be used

-advice to students or early career psychologist getting into this work