ABSTRACT

This chapter introduces a wide variety of available clinical psychological assessment methods that can aid the forensic mental health assessor in understanding the experience of the adult trauma victim. It reviews diagnostic interviewing methods, trauma-specific psychological assessment instruments, and generic psychological tests with an eye toward the application of these instruments in forensic assessment in Immigration Court (IC), especially in the cross-cultural use of these instruments. The chapter discusses omnibus personality tests include self-report tests, that is., inventory-type, question-and-response tests, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). It also reviews the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) families of tests in immigration evaluations. The chapter presents an overview of the importance and potential power of psychological assessment methods with victims of trauma.