Forensic Mental Health Evaluations
What is a Forensic Mental Health Evaluation?
A forensic mental health evaluation refers to the comprehensive process of assessing an individual in a legal context. A forensic evaluator has special forensic training in performing comprehensive assessments, in-depth clinical interviews, record reviews, objective cognitive and/or psychological testing. Forensic mental health evaluations provide relevant clinical and scientific data to an individual, court, organization, attorney, legal decision makers, etc. - for individuals who are involved in civil, family, or criminal proceedings. A Forensic Mental Health evaluation consists of an evaluator conducting clinical diagnostic interviews, assessment, scoring and interpretation of psychological/behavioral tests, providing diagnoses, treatment recommendations and a written summary of the outcomes and results.
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What qualifications do you have to conduct Certfieid Forensic Mental Health Evaluations?
Mrs. Latasha Webster is a Certified Forensic Mental Health Evaluator. She is an Independently licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Michigan with specialized training in Forensic Evaluations and certified by the National Board of Forensic Evaluators. Forensic evaluators have expertise related to diagnosing mental health disorders, conducting and interpreting psychological and behavioral testing, specialized skills in being Expert Witnesses to testify in court, to discuss the mental and/or behavior health of an individual.
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Mrs. Webster holds a Masters of Social Work Degree from Wayne State University, an independent Clinical Social Work License and has been a Mental Health Practitioner since 2012. Mrs. Webster is a member of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), National Association of Social Workers (NASW). and the National Board of Forensic Evaluators (NBFE).
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Mrs. Webster has a certification as a Certified Forensic Mental Health Evaluator (CFMHE) from the National Board of Forensic Evaluators.
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Area's of Specialization
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Forensic Mental Health Evaluation to determine current mental health status
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Evaluations for mental illness and/or competency
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Child Abuse/Neglect
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Child Custody/Parenting Time
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Disability - Barriers to Employment/Social Security Disability
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Domestic Violence
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Guardianship
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Immigration/Asylum Evaluations
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Personal Injury, Emotional Distress
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Psychological Evaluations and Testing for ADHD/Executive Functioning Disorders, Personality Disorders and other Behavior Health Disorders
Personal Injury & Disability Evaluations
Personal Best T & C offers forensic evaluations for individuals related to personal injury and disability. This evaluation includes psychological assessments and testing, review of related medical/health/mental health records, clinical assessments and interviews, etc. Individuals seeking this service may be navigating the process of civil court related to personal injury, working through denial of Social Security Disability claims, have experienced workplace violence, be experiencing a psychiatric disability due to a personal injury or illness, or need clearance to return to work or Fitness for duty.
Child Custody/Parenting Time Evaluations
Personal Best T& C offers comprehensive psychological assessments and evaluations to all family members, who are navigating the difficult process of ending a marriage when there are minor children involved or requests to make changes to the current arrangements. Child custody and/or parenting time evaluations are a service to families that are experiencing conflict and disagree about child custody arrangements.
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Our Certified Forensic Mental Health Evaluators have the training and expertise to support the Best Interests of the Child factors by conducting individual evaluations on each member of the family and the family dynamics. This process includes psychological testing, interviews with all parents and children, as well as collateral information obtained from other supporting sources. These sources may include therapists, family members, teachers, neighbors, etc. Parents are encouraged to bring any supporting information that would be helpful for the evaluation. This will also include reviewing educational documents, police reports, etc.
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In order to reduce the chance of bias, requests for evaluations must be for the children and all parents/legal guardians and cannot be one sided.
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A comprehensive assessment will include:
-Clinical interviews and psychological testing with each parent/guardian
-Clinical interviews and psychological testing with each child
-Clinical interview with parties who are relevant to the case, such as other parental figures/caregivers
-Observations of each parent/guardian and interaction with each child
-A review of collateral records related to the case
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Following the evaluation, Mrs. Webster will meet with the attorneys of the case, discuss the evaluation outcomes and provide a written reports that summarizes the results of the assessments and with recommendations for custody/visitation for both parents. This reports will note parental strengths, areas of concerns related to parenting practices and any treatment considerations.
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The evaluation will focus on advocating for recommendations that are in the best interests of the child(ren), highlight each parent/guardian's ability to appropriately parent the child(ren) and assist attorneys with providing feedback to their clients. This process involves several visits and assessments and may take between 4-6 weeks to complete.
Parental alienation syndroms, mental/physical/sexual abuse
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Immigration/Asylum Evaluations
An immigration evaluation is an assessment that is conducted by a licensed mental health practitioner​ to explain the mental health state for an individual in an immigration case. These evaluations may be related to a hardship evaluation, an immigration mental health/psychological evaluation, U-Visa, T-Visa, Asylum and/or VAWA.
As a licensed Clinical Therapist who is experienced in trauma assessment and treatment, my expertise allows me to thoroughly assess the unique mental health circumstances that are commonly seen in immigration cases and considers the unique situations and cultural backgrounds of each client, to provide a holistic understanding of their experiences. As a clinician who is eligible and experienced in diagnosing mental health issues including PTSD, personality disorders, Depression, Anxiety, as well as other disorders, this can be used as supportive evidence for an immigration petition.
A thorough and comprehensive assessment is conducted with each client using a trauma-informed and collaborative approach.
Asylum: Political asylum is granted when an undocumented immigrant is forced to flee their country as a political refugee. An immigration evaluation can help asylum seekers show evidence of persecution in their home country.
U-Visa: Provides undocumented immigrants who have been victims of a serious crime the right to reside in the United States. An immigration evaluation can help U-Visa petitioners prove the mental and emotional impact of the crime.
T-Visa: Provides victims of human trafficking the right to live and work in the United States. An evaluation can help petitioners document the impact of trafficking on the individuals mental health.
Hardship: Mental health evaluations can be conducted to show that deporting an undocumented person would contribute to extreme hardship to qualifying family members such as their United States citizen children if the family is separated.
Cancellation of Removal: Mental health evaluations can be used to support a deportation cancellation of removal order.
VAWA: The Federal Violence Against Women Act allows noncitizen victims of domestic violence to obtain immigration permanent residency in the US if they are the victim of spousal abuse. An immigration evaluation can document the impact, frequency and severity of the abuse and any mental health conditions that are related to associated trauma or other disorders.
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Attorney referral is requested. Self petitioners may also reach out for a request. Please complete the request form below:
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