4 Hours / 4 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Ethics in Forensic Practice and is presented by Michelle R. Guyton, Ph.D., ABPP, in partnership with The American Academy of Forensic Psychology.

This program uses a case-based approach with active discussion to consider several ethical issues pertaining to forensic practice. Cases focus on competence in general and with culturally and linguistically diverse individuals and manage complex professional relationships. Ethical principles from psychology and psychiatry are explored and applied to different cases.

Learning Objectives

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

  • 1 Describe and distinguish main ethical mandates in civil and criminal forensic cases
  • 2 Describe and utilize an ethical decision-making model to manage a range of ethical dilemmas in forensic matters
  • 3 Describe key ethical principles and obligations as applied to a number of diversity issues

  • Intended Audience

    This training is designed for clinicians who specialize in forensic mental health, clinical psychology, or psychiatry and are interested in developing or enhancing their skills in forensic evaluation. It is particularly relevant for professionals working at the intersection of mental health and the legal system, including those involved in civil and criminal forensic assessment, forensic inpatient care, human resources, community mental health, and related legal-psychology fields.

    • Mental Health Professional
    • Forensic Mental Health Clinician
    • Clinical Psychologist
    • Psychiatrist
    • Forensic Evaluator
    • Human Resources Professional involved in psychological or forensic evaluation
    • Community Mental Health Professional
    • Legal-Psychology Practitioner

  • Experience Level

    This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at varying levels of experience in forensic practice.

    Beginner:
    New to forensic mental health or ethical decision-making in forensic contexts; seeking foundational knowledge of ethical mandates, principles, and culturally responsive practice.

    Intermediate:
    Some experience in forensic settings; familiar with basic ethical principles and seeking to deepen skills in applying ethical decision-making models to complex and diverse cases.

    Advanced:
    Extensive experience in forensic mental health; seeking to refine expertise in managing nuanced ethical dilemmas, supervising others, and integrating advanced knowledge of diversity and professional relationships.

  • Practice Setting

    Clinicians who participate in this training typically work in environments where mental health and the legal system intersect. These settings require the application of psychological expertise to legal questions, often involving assessment, consultation, and treatment of individuals involved in civil or criminal legal matters. Practice settings may include secure forensic hospitals, correctional facilities, court clinics, community mental health centers, private practices specializing in forensic evaluation, and human resources departments handling psychological assessments. These environments are characterized by multidisciplinary collaboration, complex ethical considerations, and frequent interaction with legal professionals.

    • Forensic inpatient units within psychiatric hospitals
    • Correctional facilities (jails or prisons)
    • Court-based mental health clinics
    • Community mental health agencies serving justice-involved individuals
    • Private practices offering forensic assessment and consultation
    • Human resources departments conducting fitness-for-duty or risk assessments
    • Academic or research institutions focused on forensic psychology or psychiatry
    • Government agencies or public defender’s offices employing forensic evaluators

Presented By

Michelle R. Guyton, PhD, ABPP

Michelle Guyton co-owns the Northwest Forensic Institute, providing evaluations and education in forensic psychology since 2008. She is a licensed psychologist and certified forensic evaluator in Oregon. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology at Sam Houston State University and her doctorate at the University of Utah. She is one of five board-certified forensic psychologists in the state and the first female to hold this status. In Oregon since 2005, Dr. Guyton worked at the School of Graduate Psychology at Pacific University in Hillsboro, Oregon for ten years. There she functioned as an assistant then tenured associate professor, director of the forensic track, and in other administrative capacities. She and her students presented papers and posters at a variety of regional, national, and international conferences focused on forensic and correctional psychology. She has published in the area of violence risk assessment, inmates’ adjustment to prison, and forensic assessment instruments. Dr. Guyton also worked at the Oregon Department of Corrections where she provided treatment and assessment services to male and female inmates with serious mental illnesses. Dr. Guyton is the director of the Oregon Forensic Evaluator Training Program since its inception in 2012, a state-contracted program that provides initial and recertification trainings for evaluators conducting competency and criminal responsibility evaluations. She is the training director for NWFI’s postdoctoral fellowship and practicum student programs. Dr. Guyton also provides trainings to forensic mental health professionals, lawyers, judges, and other justice-related agencies. She provides consultation to attorneys, government agencies, and other psychologists. In the criminal forensic domain, she conducts evaluations that focus on fitness to proceed, criminal responsibility, sentencing, other competency issues, violence and psychosexual risk assessments. Dr. Guyton also conducts evaluations in the civil domain, including IMEs, personal injury, testamentary capacity, and fitness-for-duty evaluations.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Michelle R. Guyton, PhD, ABPP

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Applied Case-based approach to ethical issues

  • Active discussion of ethical issues in forensic practice

  • Competence with culturally and linguistically diverse individuals

  • Managing complex professional relationships

  • Ethical principles from psychology and psychiatry are explored

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).



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) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. 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), SW CPE 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 and 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. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #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. CONCEPT Professional Training 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.