Dr Turton has almost ten years experience working in forensic settings, assessing risk of violence and harm. She has worked with several high profile offenders. Dr Turton has experience of completing psychological assessments and has given evidence in court, parole hearings and tribunals. This includes conducting cognitive assessments of intelligence, memory, suggestibility, malingering/ effort, personality, trauma, mental illness, violence risk (including HCR-20), sexual risk, immigration matters, utilisation of translators and specialist assessments for ADHD and Autism.

 In this presentation, Dr Emily Turton identifies and explains common mental health issues that often impact people who are arrested. She explains how lawyers can identify these mental health issues in their clients and how this might impact their cases. She notes gender differences throughout. She then goes on to explain how to make a robust independent report about a client’s mental health issues, which can sometimes be helpful to a client’s case.

Key words/topics:

Psychosis

Personality Disorder: Antisocial, Narcissistic, Emotionally Unstable/ Borderline

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/ Complex Trauma

Autism

ADHD

Learning Disability

Hyperactivity

Learning problems

Mental health reports

Expert evidence

Expert report

Independent report

GP records

Psychiatric records

Social services reports

School reports

Probation records/ contact details of their offender manager

Personal and family history

Education and occupational history

Substance misuse

Forensic history

Physical health

Psychiatric History

Psychometric assessments

Psychological formulation and conclusion