A status report on the practice of forensic neuropsychology

The practice of forensic neuropsychology has experienced tremendous growth over the past two decades, becoming perhaps the most rapidly expanding area of practice within the field of clinical neuropsychology. Indeed, there have been many important advancements in the field that have helped to position neuropsychologists as instrumental participants within the forensic arena. Yet, there is currently no consensus in our field regarding what constitutes competency in forensic neuropsychology and also no specific guidelines or standards of practice to inform neuropsychologists about how to operate in the forensic arena. There are even fewer safeguards to protect the public from questionable methods of practice. This article provides a status report on the practice of forensic neuropsychology. It employs a framework emphasized by Otto and Heilbrun (2002) in their assessment of the field of forensic psychology. Emphasis is directed toward identifying recent advances in the field and documenting some of the inherent flaws and weaknesses in forensic practice to help advance the practice of forensic neuropsychology toward a more established specialty area.