Expert Witness

Working as an Expert Witness can be professionaly rewarding and profitable for the independent psychologist who is self-motivated, self-directed, organised and able to adapt to working attitudes that will be different from what they are accustomed to. There is a broad range of work available including working within the Legal Aid funded arena in largely criminal cases and usually on behalf of the defence. Opportunities to work with the Crown Prosecution Service will also arise from time-to-time. Finally, there is the civil arena which can include Road Traffic Accidents, malpractice, and insurance related claims. The psychologist who begins doing this type of work can guide the direction they want to go in, particularly once they are recognised as competent as both a psychologist and working within the legal structure.

Dr van Scoyoc taught specialised workshops, mostly on behalf of the British Psychological Society, uniquely designed to train psychologists as expert witnesses. There are courses available that teach these skills as they generally apply to expert witnesses, but it is useful to polish skills particular to psychology.

Dr van Scoyoc’s complete Essential Knowledge for the Expert Witness series is available online at the British Psychological Society’s website . This course is updated regularly, taking into consideration changes in case law and regulations regarding work as an expert witness.

Dr van Scoyoc is also available for bespoke online training to individuals and groups for specialised Expert Witness training.