Addressing Professional Challenges - Coursework Example

Forensic Psychology Forensic Psychology Forensic Psychology is the link between the justice system and psychology (Webber, 2010). It revolves around the understanding of the fundamental legal principles, especially those that regard to witness testimony and other areas of concern such as competence to stand trial and workplace discrimination. There are various challenges that affect forensic psychologists who work with the police force, mainly because of the pressure that accompanies that line of work.

However, in some special cases the challenges do not emanate from within the police force but from the psychologists themselves. One such special circumstance is on the issue of competency (Arrigo & Shipley, 2005).A psychologist is obligated ethically to be competent in the realm in which he works (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2002). Forensic psychologists must, therefore, demonstrate professional competence in their area, which is regarded as their sub-specialty, for example, assessment, and competence in the judicial rules that govern the roles that they play (Hart, Ogloff, & Roesch, 2000).

Now, since there are no express guidelines that stipulate when and if a forensic psychologist has attained full competence professionally, they must strive to ensure that their works are within their realm of evidence, which ensures that both the police work as well as theirs runs as smoothly as possible.It is similarly essential for supervisors and educators to give the utmost priority regularly reviewing the quality of supervision the psychologists provide (Carter, Ulrich, & Goldsmith, 2005).

Despite having a significant overlap between activities conducted by mainstream psychologist and forensic psychologist, there are also a number of unique qualities in the forensic psychology field. In order to bridge this gap, my suggestion would be the implementation of a one-year mandatory supervised practice within the police force in order to adequately and completely conceptualize the issues involved in police activities, hence ensuring the utmost competency within the field and ultimately the efficient execution of duties from both the police force and the psychologists.

ReferencesArrigo, B. A., & Shipley, S. L. (2005). Introduction to forensic psychology: Issues and controversies in crime and justice. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Carter, L., Ulrich, D., & Goldsmith, M. (2005). Best practices in leadership development and organization change: How the best companies ensure meaningful change and sustainable leadership. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Hart, S. D., Ogloff, J. R. P., & Roesch, R. (2000). Psychology and law: The state of the discipline. New York.Koocher, G. P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2002). Ethics in psychology: Professional standards and cases.

New York: Oxford University Press.Webber, C. (2010). Psychology & crime. Los Angeles: SAGE.