Forensic Psychologist
Reports to: Director of Court Psychiatric Clinic
Starting salary: $96,878.86 - $101,857.08 (commensurate with experience)
Summary
(Revised Posting: Please note revised salary.)
This is an unclassified position held at the pleasure of the Court. This position is responsible for conducting court-ordered forensic psychological testing and evaluations of felony criminal defendants in the Court Psychiatric Clinic. This position requires the psychologist to use knowledge of the law and psychology to perform forensic psychological evaluations and answer the psycho-legal referral question. The psychologist must prepare reports in response to court referrals and testify in court proceedings.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include:
- Diagnosing mental disorders of criminal defendants;
- Conducting court-ordered forensic evaluations, including Competency to Stand Trial; Sanity at the Time of the Act; Mitigation; Civil Commitment; and Violence Risk Assessment and preparing reports to convey the results of those evaluations;
- Providing clinical supervision to trainees (e.g., psychology interns, forensic psychiatry fellows, psychiatry residents, law students);
- Testifying in court regarding psychological evaluations of defendants;
- Performing a variety of other related duties as required.
The above statements describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this classification. They are not an exhaustive list of all duties. Other duties may be assigned.
Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities
To perform this job successfully, an individual must demonstrate the following:
- Superior assessment, diagnostic and report-writing skills;
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with Judges, staff, probation officers, attorneys, and the public;
- Familiarity with both severe mental illness and developmental disabilities;
- Ability to diagnose mental disorders consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders;
- Ability to integrate clinical and factual data and with applicable legal standards;
- Ability to administer and interpret psychological tests;
- Knowledge of Ohio law regarding competency, sanity, and mitigation;
- Effective time management, reliability, and punctuality;
- Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment;
- Ability to maintain sensitive and confidential information;
- Ability to work effectively and in a professional manner when under stress and confronted with tight deadlines;
- Proficiency in utilizing Microsoft Office applications and ability to learn and work with the custom software utilized within the department and the Court;
- Proficiency in dictating reports for subsequent transcription by others;
- Professional appearance and demeanor.
Education and Experience
Required: Doctoral degree (Ph.D./Psy.D.) in Clinical or Counseling Psychology from an APA-accredited program; Ohio Psychology license (or obtain license within six [6] months of hire); and completion of an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship; Forensic post-doctoral training is a plus.
Physical Demands and Work Environment
The physical demands described here represent those an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this job. The work environment characteristics described here represent those employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
This position requires working in a normal Court and/or office environment with no unusual demands or exposure to hazardous situations, with occasional exposure to unstable defendants. However, security is available. Frequent contact occurs with criminal defendants, victims, and witnesses to obtain information necessary to complete the assigned forensic reports. Frequent contact also occurs with judges, attorneys, and probation officers to discuss the forensic reports.
The normal hours of operation are from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. This position may require some work beyond normal hours, including evenings and weekends.
Equal Opportunity Employer – Smoke-Free and Drug-Free Workplace.