10 Hours / 10 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Cultural Considerations in Forensic Mental Health Assessment is presented by Amanda Fanniff, PhD. This badge-earning program can be shared digitally on platforms like LinkedIn or your resume and counts towards various certificates. Enroll to earn credit and share your new digital credentials with prospective employers and colleagues. This program counts as a foundational program in the certificates:

  1. Criminal Forensic Assessment Certificate
  2. Child Custody Evaluation Certificate
  3. Civil Forensic Assessment Certificate
  4. Juvenile Forensic Assessment Certificate
  5. Violence Risk Assessment Certificate


There is a clear ethical imperative for forensic evaluators to tailor their assessments to their examinees’ relevant identities. Mental health professionals have expressed the need for more specific guidance regarding culturally-informed forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) in several survey studies. Such guidance has started to be published in the last four years, including a Delphi poll seeking to establish agreed-upon best practices for culturally-informed FMHA (Fanniff et al., 2023). 

The results of that study are used to structure this training around five key components of FMHA: 

  1. Developing and maintaining competence 
  2. Practices for evaluations of examinees who have limited English language proficiency, 
  3. Referral and preparation for evaluation, 
  4. Clinical interview and use of assessment instruments, 
  5. Formulation
  6. Report writing.


Research findings and scholarly guidance are incorporated to provide action-oriented recommendations for practice. Participants discuss the application of recommendations in break-out room discussions. Insights from attendees are welcomed and incorporated into the full group presentation. The goal is for each participant to complete the training with a plan for trying out several practices for culturally-informed FMHA in their upcoming evaluations.

This program is designed for individuals at all stages of their professional journey—whether you're a recent graduate, early-career clinician, or an experienced professional seeking to deepen your expertise in forensic mental health assessment. While the course emphasizes criminal forensic examples, the content is also highly applicable to civil court evaluations. It is relevant for those working in a variety of settings, including private practice, university clinics, state hospitals, correctional facilities, and other contexts where forensic evaluations are conducted.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Identify at least two ethical guidelines that require mental health professionals to consider cultural considerations in conducting forensic mental health assessments (e.g., based on the American Psychology Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology, and/or the American Psychiatric Association Ethics Code)
  • 2 Describe at least one recommendation related to working with examinees with limited English language proficiency and will be able to give an example of how to apply that recommendation
  • 3 Describe at least one recommendation for selecting and interpreting psychological tests in a culturally-informed manner and will be able to give an example of how to apply each recommendation
  • 4 Describe two research findings regarding whether specific assessment tools show bias across race, gender, or language identity
  • 5 Describe at least one recommendation for culturally-informed forensic formulation and will be able to give an example of how to apply that recommendation
  • 6 Describe at least one recommendation for culturally-informed report writing and will be able to give an example of how to apply that recommendation

  • Intended Audience

    This training is appropriate for mental health and other allied professionals who are seeking to deepen their expertise in forensic mental health assessment. While the course emphasizes criminal forensic examples, the content is also highly applicable to civil court evaluations.


    Examples of Relevant Professionals:
    • Mental Health Professionals
    • Psychologists
    • Psychiatrists
    • Social Workers
    • Counselors
    • Marriage and Family Therapists
    • Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
    • Forensic Evaluators
    • Allied Health Professionals involved in forensic assessment

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for mental health professionals at all stages of experience in forensic mental health assessment.

    • Beginner: Individuals new to forensic mental health assessment or those with limited experience applying culturally-informed practices in forensic settings.

    • Intermediate: Professionals with some experience in forensic assessment who are seeking to deepen their understanding and application of culturally-informed and ethically-guided practices.

    • Advanced: Experienced forensic evaluators who wish to refine their expertise, contribute insights, and integrate the latest research and best practices into complex or specialized cases.

  • Practice Setting

    Practice occurs at the interface of mental health and the courts, providing culturally informed forensic evaluations for both criminal and civil matters. Work is conducted in clinical, institutional, and court-related environments with structured procedures, multidisciplinary collaboration, and a strong emphasis on ethical assessment, formulation, and clear reporting.


    Examples of Practice Settings:
    • Private forensic practice
    • Hospital-based forensic units (inpatient or outpatient)
    • State or county behavioral health hospitals
    • Correctional facilities and detention centers
    • Community mental health centers with forensic services
    • University or training clinics
    • Court-affiliated evaluation services
    • Juvenile justice settings
    • VA medical centers with forensic programs
    • Clinics embedded with legal system partners (e.g., public defense, probation)
Presented By

Amanda Fanniff, PhD

Amanda M. Fanniff, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at Palo Alto University. Dr. Fanniff received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Arizona. She completed her clinical internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the University of South Florida. Her research primarily focuses on forensic mental health assessment, legal system processing, and the impact of sociocultural identities. One line of this research specifically focuses on best practices in conducting culturally informed forensic mental health assessments. Relatedly, she engages in research focused on how the field of forensic psychology is incorporating sociocultural factors into our research designs. Another line of research focuses on disparities in legal system processing, including how people with different sociocultural identities are perceived by legal system actors and how processing decisions and outcomes differ. She is on the editorial board for Sexual Abuse, the journal of the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse. She is a committee member for the American Psychology-Law Society and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, as well as the American Psychology-Law Society Appointed Representative to the Forensic Psychology Specialty Board of the Council of Specialties in Professional Psychology.

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • What Does “Culturally-Informed” Mean?

    • Cultural competence (Whaley & Davis, 2007)
    • Cultural humility (Hook et al., 2013)
    • Key qualities of culturally responsive clinicians (Hays, 2016)
    • Why this applies to all evaluators, not just white clinicians evaluating people of color

  • Why It’s an Ethical Imperative

    • APA Ethics Code standards
    • Guidelines from forensic psychiatry and psychology organizations
    • New standards for Race-Informed FMHA (Ratkalkar et al., 2023)

  • What the Research Says

    • What evaluators are doing now (current practice data)
    • What board-certified forensic psychologists recommend (Fanniff et al., 2023)

  • Six Core Practice Areas Covered in Depth

    • Competence: Ongoing training, self-reflection, cultural identity frameworks (e.g., ADDRESSING, RESPECTFUL)
    • Language Proficiency: Choosing and working with translators, adjusting methods, handling trauma in non-native languages
    • Referral & Prep: Knowing when to accept referrals, reviewing relevant policies, and ethical standards
    • Interview & Assessment: Asking about race/ethnicity, assessing acculturation, test selection and adjustments
    • Formulation: Factoring in racism, discrimination, colonialism, and cultural mistrust
    • Report Writing: Explaining culturally relevant testing decisions, psychometric limitations, and contextualized findings

  • Applied Learning

    • Interactive breakouts & case discussions—including a Rohingya woman with psychotic symptoms undergoing CST evaluation. You’ll apply concepts in real time.

Earning a Certificate

This is a badge-earning program, which means it will help you earn a certificate that can be showcased on digital platforms like LinkedIn.
View Certificates

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.