4 Hours / 4 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on AAFP: The Art and Science of Expert Witness Testimony is presented by Karen Postal, PhD, ABPP in partnership with the American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP).

This program shares the fruits of a multiyear research project with in-depth interviews of attorneys, judges, and seasoned forensic experts from multiple disciplines (including psychology, neuropsychology, medicine, and economics), highlighting and offering bridges for the areas where the needs and expectations of the courtroom collide with experts’ communication habits developed over years of academic and professional training. Rather than seeing testimony as a one-way download from expert to jurors, the program focuses on the direct, dynamic, unique communication relationship that develops as each juror’s lived experience interacts with the words experts speak. 

The academic tradition of “methods-centered credibility” is expanded to also include “person-centered credibility,” where warmth, confidence, and relentless attention to detail build trust with jurors. Strategies and techniques are shared for disrupting traditional academic communication and creating access to expert opinions with vivid, clear language and strong visuals. The difficult but necessary emotional work of the courtroom is addressed with specific techniques to regulate emotions in order to maintain person-centered credibility and keep the needs of jurors front and center through cross-examination. Rather than advice on testifying from a single expert, the research paradigm shared in the program offers a unique experience: like being personally mentored by over 85 attorneys, judges, and seasoned experts as they share their observations, insights, and strategies: not “win” as a defense, prosecution, or plaintiff expert, but to be productive in helping jurors and other triers of fact do their difficult intellectual job in deciding a case.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe the challenges and benefits of recognizing the unique, direct, dynamic communication partnership that develops with jurors during testimony in our increasingly diverse society.
  • 2 Describe person-centered credibility (how judges, attorneys, and jurors typically understand credibility) from methods-centered credibility (how academically trained experts to understand credibility).
  • 3 Describe specific ways that traditional academic communication patterns prevent jurors from accessing expert witness opinions and diminish our person-centered credibility.
  • 4 Describe and use several disruptive communication strategies on both direct and cross-examination that allow us to create moments of access and engagement with jurors.
Presented By

Karen Postal, PhD, ABPP

Karen Postal is a past president of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology and a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on improving communication about neuroscience with patients and the general public. She is the author of Feedback That Sticks: The Art of Communicating Neuropsychological Assessment Results, Testimony That Sticks: The Art of Communicating Psychology.

  • Intended Audience

    This training is designed for psychologists, neuropsychologists, and other mental health professionals who are involved or interested in forensic assessment and expert testimony. It is tailored for those who provide expert opinions to assist jurors, judges, and attorneys in understanding psychological and neuropsychological issues relevant to legal cases.

    Examples of Relevant Professionals:

    • Licensed psychologists
    • Neuropsychologists
    • Forensic psychologists
    • Mental health professionals
    • Expert witnesses in psychological or neuropsychological matters
    • Consultants in legal or forensic cases

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience with forensic testimony and expert witness communication.

    • Beginner: Participants new to forensic testimony or expert witness roles will gain foundational understanding of courtroom communication dynamics, person-centered credibility, and the unique relationship with jurors.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in forensic settings will deepen their skills in bridging academic and courtroom communication, applying disruptive strategies, and enhancing juror engagement through person-centered credibility.

    • Advanced: Participants with extensive forensic testimony experience will refine advanced techniques for emotional regulation, dynamic communication, and mentoring others in best practices for expert witness testimony in diverse courtroom environments.

  • Practice Setting

    Practitioners operate at the intersection of clinical care and the legal system, conducting evaluations in healthcare settings and communicating findings within adversarial legal forums. The environment is structured, security-sensitive, and procedurally rigorous, with strict timelines, comprehensive documentation, collaboration with attorneys and courts, and frequent exposure to cross-examination.

    Examples of Practice Settings:

    • Private practice clinics providing forensic and neuropsychological evaluations
    • Hospital-based or academic medical center neuropsychology services
    • Court-affiliated forensic evaluation clinics
    • Correctional and detention facilities
    • Veterans Affairs and government health systems
    • Law firms and public defender/prosecutor offices (consulting and testimony)
    • Independent expert witness practices (local, state, federal cases)
    • Teleforensic assessment and consultation settings
We are proud to partner with

American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP)

American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP)

We are proud to partner with the American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP) for this training. AAFP is a non-profit organization of board-certified forensic psychologists whose mission is to contribute to the development and maintenance of forensic psychology as a specialized field of study, research, and practice. The Academy does this by providing high-quality continuing education workshops, providing a forum for the exchange of scientific information among its members, and conferring awards upon outstanding students and practitioners in the field of forensic psychology.

Learn More About Our Partner

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).


Sponsorship Approval Statements

Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7190. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Palo Alto University, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Palo Alto University maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits. Continuing and Professional Studies, Palo Alto University, is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0103. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies, is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073.