Cope_Inc_Alamogo New Mexico Psy 626 Snhu Forensi
Discussions posted below to answer and rubric attached. The community issue is prisons in Chicago dealing with COVID.
After you have completed at least some of your community investigations, please share some of your ideas with your peers. It is possible that you may discover an avenue of networking that your peers have not.
Briefly describe two or three community-based leads that you have found and why you think the agencies you found provide a good opportunity for a forensic consultant.
Read others’ discoveries and identify two or three of their ideas you will incorporate into your own employment strategies. Post your complete set of opportunities (including the best of your ideas and others’ ideas) in a new post. Be sure to include the original author with each strategy.
https://www.verywellmind.com/forensic-psychology-careers-2795639
https://web.archive.org/web/20170710051132/http://aps.psychologicalscience.org/employment
The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) was founded in 1975. It started as a small group of loosely affiliated chapters. It has grown to be one of the largest organizations advocating for victims’ rights. NOVA has state and county affiliates, each working within their own area, serving the victims within the laws of those jurisdictions (NOVA, 2015). As a forensic consultant, you may be drawn to working with victims, and if so, NOVA is one of the best places to start. Its database can assist you in locating local groups in need of victim advocates. If your local area has no victim advocates, NOVA can help you establish such an organization.
As a student of forensic psychology, your ultimate goal may not be to work with victims of crime. The example above illustrates one path that could be used to find employment, an internship, or some other form of affiliation once your degree is completed. This module asks you to think about how to start networking and making plans for your path after your educational journey is complete. How many agencies in your local community are in need of forensic consultation? Who might you serve best? What population do you want to work with? How do you go about making contact with an agency you are interested in working with? These are the types of questions you will need to ask yourself for this module. As you discover information and find answers to your questions, you will be asked to share your thought processes and ideas with your peers. When this module is completed, you should find that you are beginning to have a good idea of what you will do after your degree is complete and how you will apply the knowledge you have gained at SNHU.
Response One:
Pansy Wiest posted Jul 21, 2020 4:58 PM
I live in Alamogordo, NM with a population around 32 thousand people, give or take. The town is not very big, we have a Walmart and we were pretty excited when we Hobby Lobby took up shop here. The two biggest cities close to me are Las Cruces and El Paso, Tx both of which take an hour to two hours to drive to. The population is a mix of military, average working citizens and a lot of low-income families. The need is high here for this career field however there isn’t a lot of options in this particular area. In doing my research I selected two of the closest areas that incorporate forensic consultants. Locally however, we do have COPE which is a women’s shelter. They offer victim advocacy services, batter intervention programs for both the victim and the offender by court order and by voluntarily requesting help. This organization offers a lot of services to the community and would be a great source to utilize especially for advocates.
New Mexico Corrections Department offers a variety of behavioral health services. Some of the services that are included provide reducing recidivism. Assessment, testing and treatment options are included which can be coordinated and impact parole hearings and evaluations.
Clinical, Forensic and Neuropsychology Associates of New Mexico are located in Albuquerque, NM which is about 3hrs and 30 minutes from where I live however it is an organization that offers services specifically with forensic consultants. This specifically assists individuals that are scheduled to stand trial and their competency needs to be determined. Risk assessments, mental retardation, competency of witnesses as well as the person to stand trial are all offered as one of the services that is offered at this organization.
As to what I would choose as an option I cannot say that I would select either of these two options. Advocacy and education are more along my lines of speed and comfort. Unfortunately, there are just not a lot of options in this local area unless I am looking forward to a lengthy commute.
References
Clinical, Forensic and Neuropsychological Associations of New Mexico. Retrieved from url: http://www.nmpsych.com/services.html
Center of Protective Environment. (COPE) Retrieved from url: https://www.womenshelters.org/det/cope_inc_alamogo…
New Mexico Corrections Department. Retrieved from url: https://cd.nm.gov/services/behavior-health-service…
Response Two:
Joseph Reder posted Jul 22, 2020 10:05 AM
Based on my research, after completing this degree there are several different opportunities I can pursue. Two of the biggest obstacles is that many forensic psychology jobs require a PhD and another is that those who don’t are more clinically focused. Still, I found several opportunities that involve a mix of clinical and forensic capacities. One of these opportunities is a Mental Health Clinician (South Bay Services, 2020). In this role you may work as part of four different teams including the Forensic-Dual Diagnosis team. Some of the tasks include consulting with outside agencies, initiate assessments and treatment plans, and adhere to therapy guidelines. This role would provide a good mix of assessments and consultations based on experience and prior coursework.
Much of my coursework thus far has prepared me directly for the key tasks this job requires. I have learned in the ethical course many of the APA and other considerations that apply to therapists. Each course has involved an ethical component, including this one. Conducting assessments is a large portion of forensic psychology and the course Assessment for Forensic Psychology and this one provides training on how to create assessment reports. This job does require applicants be willing to obtain a Marriage & family Therapy Certificate so that is something I would have to work towards. (South Bay Services, 2020).
Another opportunity may be to work as a Jail Diversion Clinical Coordinator. This role involves working with local law enforcement to assist those with mental health and substance issues to ensure successful jail diversion (Eliot Community Services, 2020). This may provide for the opportunity to conduct risk assessments, develop treatment plans, and gauge potential risk or protective factors. Unlike some other jobs, this role only requires an MA or better in psychology.
One of the other requirements for this job is knowledge of evidence-based treatments related to jail diversion and mental health. Courses such as Cognitive Processes, Measurement and Assessment, and Forensic Psychology have given me experience in researching evidence-based practices and developing treatment plans.
References
Eliot Community Human Services. (2020). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.ziprecruiter.com/c/Eliot-Community-Hum…
South Bay Services. (2020). Retrieved 2020, from https://southbaycommunityservices.com/services-2/
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