Dr. Eileen Kohutis
A psychological forensic evaluation consists of document review, client interview, psychological testing (although this is not necessarily done for every case and other mental health evaluators are not trained to do testing) and collateral data or information from third parties. Gathering collateral information is important because a considerable amount of material from the litigants are through self-report. A litigant may be biased, may not accurately remember specific information about their case, or may be unwilling to provide needed details. The purpose of interviewing a collateral is to obtain additional information about the client being evaluated. It is the use of collateral contacts that differentiates a forensic evaluation from a clinical evaluation. In a clinical evaluation documents are reviewed and the client is interviewed. Little effort is made to corroborate what the client has said with objective information from other sources.
Two sources of collateral data are documentation and other individuals who know the litigant. Medical records, police reports, pharmacy records, mental health records, and school records provide collateral information. For example, in a child custody evaluation the school records could demonstrate whether the child’s declining academic performance was related to the parents’ divorce or to some other matter. In a personal injury evaluation, pharmacy records could indicate whether the litigant had an increased number of visits to the physician that coincided with the injury or whether the litigant was seeking medication from other physicians. In both of these evaluations, the individual may not provide accurate and reliable information. A parent may not remember whether the child was frequently absent from school due to the stress of the divorce; a personal injury litigant may not correctly recall the various providers, medications and dosages that were prescribed for the injury.
Collateral contacts, third parties who know the litigant, may be professionals, such as physicians and therapists, and may be non-professionals, such as family members and friends. The best collateral contacts are those individuals who are impartial, neutral, and who can provide pertinent information based on their own direct observation. For example, in a child custody evaluation a collateral contact would be a teacher at the child’s preschool or the child’s pediatrician or allergist. In a personal injury case, where a litigant is claiming emotional distress, a collateral contact would be a therapist, physician, or friend.
Obtaining collateral information in a forensic mental health evaluation provides another source of information. The Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology of the American Psychological Association 2011 recommends that evaluators gather information from various sources to increase the accuracy of the information collected and so that the litigant can respond to that material. Collateral data along with test results and client interview corroborate the hypotheses generated during the evaluation and provide a sound basis for the expert’s opinion