Lawyer Monthly Magazine - July 2019 Edition

JUL 2019 44 Expert Witness www. lawyer-monthly .com for the Courts relies on different types and sources of information. This includes background information, such as GP records, police records, and statements from the parties. It includes information gathered through clinical interview of the person being assessed and through the administration of psychological tests, along with behavioural observation. Psychometric testing provides a systematic, objective method of collecting data. It augments information obtained in the clinical interview which is more open to interpretation. The assessment may also make use of information gathered through interviewing other people who know the individual and through obtaining historical records held by other professionals, such as therapists who have treated the individual. Lastly, the assessment may also include reference to information from published research. One might question that since psychologists are not medically trained, why would they want to see the GP records? Much of the information about matters such as prescriptions for common infections, blood test results and the details for vaccines is not something that a psychologist is qualified to form an opinion on. However, these records often contain a wealth of information that informs all of my reports for the Courts, regardless of whether the case is a civil compensation claim, a criminal case or a family case, and I always ask to see them. Sometimes, there are issues of direct relevance, such as any letters from other mental health professionals. Sometimes, notes from the GP will raise important questions to follow up in an interview, for example, a comment when the examinee was a child about a possible learning difficulty. Courtroom experience Being able to write a good report is central to working as an expert witness. However, it is not sufficient. One also has to be able to give evidence in Court. I have given evidence many times over the years for both the defence and the prosecution in criminal cases, includingat theCentral Criminal Court. In care proceedings cases, I have given evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice. To date, I have not yet been required to give evidence in a personal injury compensation claim as all of the cases I have been involved in have settled without proceeding to this step. When I have given evidence, I have found the Judges to be excellent and I have never been personally attacked in Court, although I have been asked some searching questions. This only serves to keep me on my toes! I welcome the opportunity to explain my thinking and although I may have a moment of anxiety before taking the witness stand, I consider that this is appropriate because of the weighty responsibility of the task. When under cross- examination, I draw on my undergraduate experience at Oxford where I was required to defend my essays in individual tutorials with tutors who sought to question my thinking rigorously and thoroughly. It was excellent preparation for expert witness work! Treatment services In addition to doing about one assessment per month these days for theCourts, I alsoprovide individual psychotherapy to adults. I completed a four- year psychoanalytic training with the Site for Contemporary Psychoanalysis in 2017, registering as a psychotherapist with the UKCP. Most of my current therapy patients come between two and four times a week over a period of many years for long term, intensive psychoanalytic treatment but I also sometimes offer short term and brief interventions depending on the patient’s needs. I regularly supervise other psychologists, both for assessments and for therapy, and I take part in peer supervision as well in order to get feedback and keep myself open to different perspectives. In conclusion Over the course of my career, since seeing my first patient in graduate school, I have worked with hundreds of people with all sorts of psychological problems, in diverse settings ranging from a college counselling centre through to in-patient psychiatric wards and my Court work has covered a very wide range of legal issues. The work continues to feel hugely rewarding to me and I am grateful for the trust placed in me by so many who have sought my services in distressing and difficult circumstances. LM “ However, sadly, due to cuts in legal aid, these types of cases are less often brought to an expert now, as compared to when I first started this work and as a result, I wonder about the quality of decision-making for these troubled families.