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Professor Patricia Zapf in Psychology speaks at the National Criminal Defense Forum on Mental Health

Patricia A. Zapf, professor in the Department of Psychology, spoke at the National Criminal Defense Forum on Mental Health and the Law in Denver, CO on September 19-20. This was a two-day conference that was sponsored by Reilly Pozner LLP, a trial and litigation firm based in Denver, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) attended by over 350 criminal defense lawyers from all over the country as well as from Puerto Rico, Guam, and Japan.

Zapf said “The lineup included nine speakers, all "masters" in their respective areas of forensic mental health law. I was honored to be one of the nine and spoke on "Preparing and Cross-Examining Forensic Psychologists Testifying on Competency."

Professor Zapf is the Editor of the American Psychology-Law Society Book Series and an Associate Editor for Law and Human Behavior. She was appointed Fellow of the American Psychological Association in 2006 for outstanding contributions to the field of psychology and law. She has published over 80 articles and chapters, mainly on the assessment of criminal competencies. She is author of 8 books and manuals including the Suicide Assessment Manual for Inmates (SAMI), the Fitness Interview Test – Revised (FIT-R), and Oxford’s Best Practices in Forensic Mental Health Assessment: Evaluation of Competency to Stand Trial and Forensic assessments in criminal and civil law: A handbook for lawyers.