2021 Annual Forensic Directors Conference will be virtual

We are making plans now to bring you the presenters that we were supposed to have in person in April 2020 – but now it will be virtual. We will still offer approximately 8 CEUs and have our annual poster session honoring Howard Sokolov and Miller Makey.

There are still a lot of details to work out, but our plans are to bring you Maureen Reardon, Ph.D. ABPP, Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and President, American Board of Forensic Psychology; and Shawn K. Acheson, Ph.D. Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychologist at Clinical Neuroscience Services of WNC in Asheville, NC, and Duke University in a two-day event likely designed similarly to the traditional day and a half model that we have used in the past. That is all still up for consideration.

Pharmacology and Mental State Evaluations from Dr. Maureen Reardon and Dr. Shawn K. Acheson is planned to be an all-day presentation.

Recreational drugs are common in criminal activity and can exert potent effects on cognition, affect, and behavioral control. This workshop provides an introduction to the neuropsychopharmacology of recreational drugs of abuse (e.g., alcohol, sedatives, stimulants, opiates, and hallucinogens), with particular emphasis on alcohol and stimulants given their ubiquity in criminal activity.   First discussed are the effects of various substances, and combinations thereof, on mental state.  Next, strategies for disentangling the effects of various substances from underlying mental conditions will be provided.  Lastly, the relevance of substance-related altered mental states to evaluations of criminal responsibility in Ohio are discussed and illustrated via case vignettes.

Practical Strategies & Ethical Considerations for Formulating Sanity Opinions – Day 2 is planned to be a half-day presentation from Dr. Reardon.

The second workshop will build upon Day 1 by identifying the essential data sources and methods of evaluating a defendant’s understanding of the wrongfulness of the alleged acts, while highlighting relevant ethical considerations from referral, to evaluation, to testimony. 

If you are a Legal Examiner at one of Ohio’s our ten accredited centers your center director will let you know when you can register. For those who are not an affiliate of a center, we will publish our registration materials and fees later this year.

Note that we will be applying for continuing education credits for MDs, Psychologists, RNs, LSW/LPCC and for CLEs. There will be no partial credit given for any psychologist that does not complete the entire session as publicized. Other professions can get partial credit. We will also be applying for ETHICS CEs for Psychologists for the 1/2 day program.

As information is confirmed we will post it here and communicate to those who have registered for our conferences in the past.

Published by Ohio Forensic Evaluation Center Directors Association

We offer Ohio's Courts of Common Pleas and the other criminal justice and mental health related services in our regions evidence-based, expertly crafted mental health opinions, and promote the ideals of objectivity and excellence in all forensic evaluation opinions proffered. We strive to promote this standard through the work of our centers and to our colleagues and consultants outside of our centers through training and supervision. Further, we never fail to consider the community's safety, as well as the individual's need for the most clinically appropriate interventions, as we are crafting these opinions and conducting our training. Additionally, we serve our colleagues in the state hospitals, the prison system and the state and county Mental Health and Addiction Services Boards, Developmental Disability Boards, Probation Departments and Municipal Courts to find effective solutions to many of our risk of violence and community mental health safety issues. We are proud to serve the courts of Ohio, and appreciate the ongoing recognition we receive for our work.

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