Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory

Elements of quality clinically focused postdoctoral training

Forensic Services at Mississippi State Hospital (MSH) is comprised of three buildings (i.e., maximum-security, medium-security, and low-security) that have a total of 65 beds. However, a new building is scheduled to open in January 2025, which will increase our capacity to approximately 130. Forensic Services provides four different types of services: (1) outpatient forensic criminal evaluations; (2) inpatient forensic criminal evaluations; (3) court competence restoration treatment; and (4) treatment for long-term patients adjudicated Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) or Not Competent and Not Restorable (NCNR). Other non-forensic (i.e., civilly-committed) patients are sometimes treated on the forensic unit due to aggressive behavior and the need for treatment within a more secure unit. 

The Fellow is part of the Forensic Evaluation Service, which consists of psychologists and psychiatrists who provide pretrial inpatient and outpatient forensic mental health evaluations of adult felony defendants, NGRI acquittees, and NCNR individuals for Mississippi Courts in all 82 counties across the state. If a juvenile has been waived to adult criminal court, then we also conduct those evaluations. As the only State-operated forensic service in Mississippi, the Forensic Evaluation Service regularly conducts a number of different types of pretrial criminal forensic evaluations. The most frequently referred issues include evaluations of competence to stand trial, competence to waive or assert constitutional rights (including competence to waive Miranda rights), and mental state at the time of the alleged offense(s) (i.e., insanity). Additional evaluation referrals include: capital sentencing/mitigation, pretrial evaluations of intellectual disability in capital murder cases (“Atkins evaluations”), and violence/sexual violence risk assessments. The majority of the Fellow's time is spent in the following activities: court-ordered forensic evaluations, psychological testing (including the use of specialized forensic assessment instruments), forensic report writing, forensic clinical interviews, and observation of and/or providing expert testimony.

Other optional clinical opportunities during the fellowship may include: co-facilitation of court competence restoration groups, individual court competence restoration sessions, group and/or individual psychotherapy, behavior intervention planning, supervision of doctoral level practicum students, multidisciplinary treatment team, performance improvement projects, attending the MSH Discharge Advisory Committee and other hospital committees, and program development/outcome evaluations. Availability of training experiences may vary based on characteristics of the unit’s patient population, the Fellow's experience and areas of interest, and other resources. If the Fellow does not have experience providing court competence restoration services, then this will be a required activity during at least the initial part of the fellowship. 

The Fellow will be provided with at least 2 hours of face-to-face clinical supervision per week with a licensed psychologist. Additional supervision and training experiences are provided by board certified forensic psychiatrists. The Fellow will also participate in and present at weekly seminars covering topics of diagnosis, intervention, professional practice, current research, and ethics. An additional hour each week will be devoted to continuing professional development and education in forensic psychology covering topics of case law, ethics, and socio-cultural/ethnic factors in the context of forensic treatment and assessment. The Fellow will participate in at least two mock testimony experiences during the year. Fellows will also have the opportunity to attend grand rounds for MSH's psychiatry residency program. There may be opportunities for the Fellow to observe and/or participate in private contract work with members of the Forensic Evaluation Service (e.g., postconviction forensic psychological evaluations, forensic psychological evaluations in the Federal court system, etc.). 

Fellows are provided with 5 paid professional development days which may be used for a variety of activities, such as EPPP prep, taking the EPPP, or job interviews. Additional paid administrative leave is allowed for attending professional conferences, workshops, or other trainings. Some funds may be available to go toward professional activities. 

Since the COVID pandemic, some outpatient forensic evaluations are being conducted via telehealth. Some expert testimony also is being provided via videoconferencing. Inpatient forensic evaluations and psychological testing continues to be conducted in-person.