ABSTRACT
Beginning in the 1950s and continuing to the present, clinical and counseling psychologists have become integral to the provision of assessment and therapeutic services in correctional, delinquency, and other forensic settings. Psychologists have provided therapeutic services in what could be described as forensic settings since the profession of clinical psychology was established. Data that shed some light on the volume of forensic evaluations conducted annually are sparse and limited to criminal forensic evaluation. Contributing to and reflecting the growth and development of forensic psychology has been the establishment of professional organizations composed of psychologists and affiliated professionals who are interested in this specialty area. Certification of competence in forensic psychology is accomplished on a national level in the United States through specialized board certification or diplomate status granted by a number of professional boards, with differing functions and practices. Forensic assessment instruments and forensically relevant instruments have been developed and published in different ways.
