The Practice of Clinical Forensic Psychology in Canada: Current Landscape and Future Directions

Canadian clinical forensic psychologists complete rigorous clinical training, yet their scope of practice is limited compared to clinical forensic psychologists in other countries. Specifically, Canadian psychologists typically do not conduct fitness to stand trial or criminal responsibility evaluations due to a stipulation in the Criminal Code of Canada that these assessments are to be completed by a medical professional (i.e., psychiatrist). Although efforts are underway to amend the Criminal Code, we consider pursuing board certification as a method for Canadian clinical forensic psychologists to demonstrate specialty expertise and competence to broaden their scope of practice. In the present study, we conducted a practice survey to obtain an overview of Canada's clinical forensic psychology landscape to examine licensed clinical forensic psychologists' training, current qualifications, and interest in Canadian board certification. Eighty-four licensed clinical forensic psychologists completed the survey, representing eight Canadian provinces. Over a third of the respondents attended graduate programs with formal forensic training (36%) or completed forensic postdoctoral training and supervision (35%). Respondents reported completing an average of 3.6 different types of psycholegal assessments in forensic settings or private practice within the previous 3 years. Although most referrals were related to violence or general risk assessment (67%), over a quarter of respondents reported completing fitness (24%) and criminal responsibility (27%) evaluations. Respondents were, on average, neutral about board certification; however, years of psychological practice were associated with a decreased interest, suggesting that early-career professionals have greater interest than professionals later in their careers. Future directions are discussed.