Developing a Model for Evidence-based Clinical Forensic Interviewing

Abstract

Much of the work undertaken in forensic settings, such as diagnosis, formulation, and judgements about treatment and placement are based on information gathered through clinical forensic interviewing. Despite this, the evidence base on which clinical forensic interviewing is founded is extremely limited. This article is divided into two sections. The first section examines the nature of interviewing and introduces this area of practice. Drawing on some of the research undertaken with specific forms of interview such as those for diagnosis and investigative purposes allows factors such as the evidence concerning interview quality, interview effectiveness, underlying competencies and methods for skills training to be outlined. The second part of the article, which provides the main focus, describes a forensic clinical interview framework which seeks to draw together a broad range of considerations and areas for research in relation to the clinical forensic interview. This framework is explicitly intended to provoke and guide practitioners and researchers in the pursuit of evidence-based interviewing.