Careers in Psychology

Forensic psychologists use psychological principles applied to legal issues. In this discipline, psychology is applied in a criminal justice background. Often, a forensic psychologist's expertise is beneficial in court. A forensic psychologist can help a judge make important decisions such as which parent should have custody of a child, or evaluate a defendant's mental competence to stand trial. A complement to forensic psychology would be training in law-related fields and some universities actually offer programs that combine the Ph.D. and J. D. (law) degrees.