Forensic Toxicology

Forensic Toxicology

The field of forensic science has come a long way – this is particularly true in the area of forensic toxicology, which is both fascinating and important for many applications. Forensic toxicology deals with the investigation of toxic substances, environmental chemicals or poisonous products. If you have ever been asked to take a drug test for work or you know someone who has, then you are already familiar with one of the applications of forensic toxicology. The toxicology part refers to the methods used to study these substances. Forensic toxicology is actually a bit of a mix of many other scientific disciplines such as chemistry, pathology and biochemistry. It also shares ties with some of the environmental sciences.

Using Forensic Toxicology Today
Currently, this area of forensics has evolved to mean the study of illegal drugs and legal ones such as alcohol. Forensic toxicology can even identify poisons and hazardous chemicals. The chemical makeup of each substance is studied and they are also identified from different sources such as urine or hair. Forensic toxicology deals with the way that substances are absorbed, distributed or eliminated in the body – the metabolism of substances. When learning about drugs and how they act in the body, forensic toxicology will study where the drug affects the body and how this occurs.

Obtaining Samples for Toxicology Testing
Before toxicology testing can go forward, samples need to be taken. You might be surprised to know just how many parts of your body can produce samples that are effective for identifying drugs. One example is urine, which is commonly used in forensic toxicology. It's an easy sample to obtain and relatively rapid and non-invasive. It can show substances even several weeks after their ingestion. One example would be the drug marijuana, which can be detected even two weeks following use of the drug. When a urine sample is taken, however, there are sometimes rules and regulations around how the sample is collected. If the testing was related to workplace drug testing, a person could substitute a sample from someone else that would then show a negative result. For this reason, there are sometimes parameters around reasonable supervision when a person has to provide a urine sample.

Blood samples are another body sample used for forensic toxicology. A huge range of toxic substances can be tested from a blood sample. You may already be familiar with blood alcohol testing used to assess if a person was driving under the influence of alcohol. This type of testing is important in assessing if a driver is above the legal limit and it is also used to prove a case in court.

Hair samples are a good way to test for substance abuse that has occurred over the long-term. After a person ingests a chemical, it ends up in the hair, where it can provide forensic toxicologists with an estimate of the intensity and duration of drug use. Hair testing is even offered quite widely by companies that allow you to mail in a hair sample and check off the drugs you want checked. Saliva is another way that forensic toxicologists can test for drugs. It does, however, depend on the drug in terms of identifying its concentration. One of the more unusual sounding but interesting ways that the human body can be used for forensic toxicology involves the gastric contents in a deceased person. During the autopsy, a sample of the person's gastric contents can be analysed, which then allows the forensic toxicologist to assess if the person took any pills or liquids before their death. The brain, liver and spleen can even be used during toxicology testing.

Forensic Toxicology Applications
While there are many uses for forensic toxicology testing, the most familiar one to most people is likely to be drug and alcohol testing. This type of testing is commonly performed in the transportation industry and in workplaces. Another use is for drug overdoses, whether these are intended or accidental. People who drive with a blood alcohol concentration over the accepted legal limit can also be assessed through toxicology testing. Another application of forensic toxicology relates to sexual assault that involves the use of drugs. Various drugs are used today for the purposes of rendering the victim unable to fight the attacker, who then proceeds to sexually assault the victim. Through toxicology testing, a victim can find out what drug was given and can then be treated accordingly.

There are a lot of substances and poisons in our world – many of which impact how we function in work and society. For some people, these substances can influence their death. Fortunately, forensic toxicology testing allows forensic scientists to identify substances and determine a pattern of use. In this way, a forensic toxicologist can provide closure on the 'what if' of a person's drug habits or perhaps some mystery surrounding their death.


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Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology is an interesting branch of psychology since it involves the study of both law and psychology. This new branch of study is sought after by students that want to specialize in law with applied psychology. A forensic psychology helps people from the investigation department to nab the culprits and criminals quite easily. That’s because he helps the investigators by studying the minds of the criminals and by knowing more about the mental behavior of the wrong-doers.

The recommendations forwarded by forensic psychologists can prove very vital when it comes to nabbing criminals. As a matter of fact many a criminal case is solved by the assistance of the highly qualified forensic psychologists much to the delight of both the attorneys and the police officials. The real motive behind the killing or the murder of a person can be deduced quite effortlessly by a forensic psychologist since he works in unison with people from the legal and investigative arenas. The actual truth is that a forensic psychologist works in the line of a qualified psychologist but with a little difference. Hence there is not much of a difference between a conventional psychologist and a forensic psychologist.

A skillful forensic psychologist relies on forensic evidence to establish his findings. Most of his findings are based on human psychology and the psychological approach of a criminal. He would necessarily compare the normal human psychology with that of a criminal. He is an expert in the study of the human mind and uses subjects such as forensic medicine and forensic psychiatry to arrive at some of the crucial conclusions that could be of great help to the personnel from the criminal investigation department. A forensic psychologist is adept in making competency evaluations. He would help the lawyers in recommending death sentences. He would also be in a position to correctly evaluate the re offending behavior of a criminal.

It is important to know that forensic psychology also includes subjects such as clinical psychology and neurology. An expert from the investigative department often needs the services of experienced neurologists and clinical psychologists especially when he wants to establish the fact that the suspected criminal suffers from some sort of mental illness. Sometimes the help of a clinical psychologist is sought when medical or mental treatment to the criminal is suggested at the court of law. A forensic psychologist on the other hand specializes in the mental assessment of criminals that tend to resist any attempt at help. Thus he is a forensic, clinical and neurology specialists all combined into one!

All the special requirements of a forensic psychologist make him almost indispensable in the criminal proceedings at courts. A judge would also wait for the final word from an experienced forensic psychologist before pronouncing the final judgment. The rising demand for experienced forensic psychologists has made the subject of forensic psychology extremely popular among the students in the recent times. More students are showing great interest in the field of forensic psychology and hence many universities and community colleges have opened separate departments where this wonderful branch of applied psychology is taught by experienced and highly qualified professors.


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Forensic Psychologist

Forensic Psychologist

A forensic psychologist is any psychologist who offers an expert psychological opinion in a way that it impacts one of the adversarial arenas, typically the courts. Many people think of forensic psychologists as focussing on criminal matters. This is certainly not always the case. A forensic psychologist is any psychologist who by virtue of training or experience may assist a court or other fact finder in arriving at a just or correct decision. For example a forensic psychologist may assist in a wide variety of civil matters. Civil matters include but are not limited to lawsuits or insurance claims where emotional suffering is a part of the claim, determination of competency of an aged or ill person to make decisions, whether a death was an accident or a “disguised suicide” in an insurance claim case, or in a wide variety of other areas. Becoming a forensic psychologist will first require you to get a doctorate in psychology, often (but not necessarily) in clinical or counseling psychology. It will probably take you about seven years after the undergraduate degree to get this doctorate, though some people may take a little less time. Competition is stiff to enter these doctoral programs, so study hard! One way the person who is already a psychologist becomes a forensic psychologist is by doing additional informal study after receiving the doctoral degree. She or he does this by attending seminars, consulting with senior colleagues, or returning to the university to take additional course work. Simultaneously, psychologists often undertake their first cases in the forensic area. When done well the ethical psychologist takes care to consult closely with colleagues in the early years.

After getting considerable experience and continuing education, some forensic psychologists will go on to become ‘Board Certified’ in the forensic psychology specialty. But not all forensic psychologists do become board certified. The best known certification board is theAmerican Board of Forensic Psychology, which offers the title of ‘diplomate’ to people who meet its standards and pass its examination. There are a few graduate programs in the United States and Canada that directly train people to become forensic psychologists during the university doctoral psychology program. A person who completes one of these programs gets training in forensic psychology at the same time as obtaining the doctoral training in clinical psychology. But additional work is still necessary for the psychologist to become a ‘board certified’ diplomate in the specialty. The following list of doctoral psychology programs that offer training in forensic psychology is built and maintained as readers send me additions and corrections.

• Alliant International University, Fresno Campus, CA [reported by reader 3/13/03]
• American International College – Springfield MA [reported by reader 10/27/01]
• Argosy University – Campuses at various locations [reported by reader 02/06/06]
• California State University – Los Angeles [M.S. only - reported by reader 1/8/04]
• California State University – Sacramento [reported by readers as present and absent!]
• Capella University [non-resident PhD Internet program - added 8/21/98]
• Carlos Albizu University – Miami FL [reported by reader 3/1/04]
• Castleton State College – Vermont [M.A. only][added by webmaster 11/14/97)
• Chicago School of Professional Psychology [added by webmaster 1/12/02]
• College of St Elizabeth Morristown, NJ [Master's only][added by webmaster 6/02/07]
• Colorado School of Professional Psychology [reported by reader 09/24/05]
• Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, CA [added by webmaster 2/11/98]
• Florida International University [added 8/21/98]
• Florida State University
• Florida Tech, Melbourne FL [BA only] [reported by reader 3/13/03]
• Forest Institute of Psychology, Chicago IL [reported by reader 3/13/03]
• Illinois School of Professional Psychology [added 8/21/98]
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York [PhD beginning Fall 2004][reported by reader 2/13/04]
• Miami Institute of Psychology [reported by reader 10/30/99]
• Northwestern University [reader reports it's no longer available 6/2/01]
• Nova Southereastern University [reported by reader 10/30/99]
• Pacific Graduate School of Psychology [reported by reader 07/01/04]
• Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario
• Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI, [MA only] [reported by reader 11/01/05]
• Sam Houston State University, Huntsville TX [added by webmaster 6/11/97]
• Simon Fraser University
• State University of New York at Buffalo [reported as not available by reader]
• Tiffin University, Ohio [M.A. only][M.A. not yet accredited][added by webmaster 2/11/98]
• University of Alabama
• University of British Columbia
• University of California at Los Angeles [M.A. only][reported by reader 2/28/01]
• University of Denver, Denver CO [M.A. only][reported by reader 3/13/03]
• University of Illinois at Chicago Circle
• University of Liverpool, UK [M.Sc. in Investigative Psychology][reported by reader 3/11/04]
• University of Kansas
• University of Nebraska at Lincoln
• University of Kentucky
• University of Nevada-Reno [for jury consulting - contact R. Dillehay PhD - added 8/21/98}
• University of Virginia in School of Education - contact D. Cornell PhD [added by webmaster 4/09/02]

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