Forensic Assessment Services Team - FAST

We're extending our warmest Happy "9 to 5 Day" wishes! FAST celebrates 9 to 5 on the daily, but from this day forward will do so publicly every September 25th -- 9-25... get it? ;-)

You've probably heard the proverb: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

Yet around here, going FAST has never been a solo act. It takes our evaluators, affiliates, and the incredible 9 to 5 Office team who bring expertise, diligence, care, and levity to everything FAST takes on, evaluations and beyond.

Alone, we might be adequate. But together? We're FAST 💪 🔥

We're sending out gratitude to the incredible team who makes FAST what it is 🤗

9 to 5 Office | Operational Support for Forensic & Evaluation-Based Practices 9 to 5 Office provides embedded operational support for forensic and evaluation-based practices, managing referrals, scheduling, workflows, reports, and practice operations.

FAST + friends had a blast at the American Academy of Forensic Psychology’s Annual Conference! After spending several indoor days collecting wisdom in the form of continuing education credits, Dr. McLawsen, in need of fresh air, released herself into the wild to spend Saturday morning collecting a murder 🐦‍⬛

As many know, crows are remarkably intelligent: attentive to patterns, capable of remembering people and past interactions, skilled at solving novel problems, inclined to gather information from multiple sources, and known to revise their behavior when presented with new evidence. And just as crows adapt to dynamic surroundings, our field ended the conference by collectively identifying unresolved priorities for future inquiry.

As usual, it’s time for further data collection.

FAST is psyched for AAFP's annual conference!

Pro tip: shoving 4 foil-wrapped protein bars into a FAST water bottle will attract TSA's attention 🤭

Everyone enjoyed a good laugh. The evidence supports three conclusions: (1) FAST is committed to staying current in best forensic practices but never at the expense of (2) efficient packing and (3) our protein goals. We're so excited for conferencing and snacking with our fabulous colleagues in Portland!

Happy 2nd birthday to FAST! Everyone warns you about the “terrible twos,” but we’re embracing -- not bracing for -- the year ahead.

Everything FAST has become in the past two years reflects the dedication of our extraordinary team: the evaluators who take on unimaginably complex referrals, step in when timelines seem impossible, uphold best practices when shortcuts would be easier, and help ensure courts fully understand the people whose lives are affected by legal decisions; and our admin team that logs in after hours, knows precisely what's going on with countless moving pieces, and makes it possible for our team to respond quickly, thoughtfully, no matter how challenging the circumstances.

To every evaluator who has said yes to a case, shared their expertise, or pushed us to do better: thank you. FAST’s second year belongs to you!

⚖️ The Court recognizes that short spines work well for raccoons, but expects considerably more backbone from its expert witnesses ⚖️

At FAST, we spend our days answering psychological questions that exist because of legal principles.

Forensic psychology exists at the intersection of behavioral science and constitutional rights. Every evaluation addressing competence to proceed, criminal responsibility, immigration matters, or civil legal questions reminds us that psychological science serves something even more fundamental: informed decision-making under the rule of law.

We’re honored to contribute to a system that values evidence, due process, and careful reasoning.

Happy 250th, USA 🇺🇸 🎆 Here’s to many more.

🍓 FAST Leadership Retreat Weekend Update 🍓

With an evening ahead of us and an undefined quantity of freshly-picked Leavenworth strawberries, Claire and I decided to make strawberry jam only to realize we lacked a proper kitchen scale.

Rather than abandon the project, we relied on the core principles of forensic practice: gather the available data, identify a defensible reference point (a 5-pound exercise weight), develop a measurement methodology, and proceed. The resulting jam was excellent.

The following day, we obtained a proper scale and repeated the process with objectively superior equipment. Go figure, this batch didn't turn out as well.

This serves as a useful reminder that perfect information is a rarity, process matters, and creativity goes hand in hand with expertise.

FAST remains committed to best practices when it comes to both forensic psychological evaluations *and* jam-making.

And that's a wrap on FAST's inaugural FAST Forward Speaker Series!

We were honored to conclude the series with Dr. Amber Simpler's information-packed presentation, "When Psychosis Persists: Understanding Transitions from Substance-Induced Psychosis to Primary Psychotic Disorders."

Distinguishing between primary and substance-induced psychotic disorders is one of the thornier questions forensic psychologists encounter. Dr. Simpler did a remarkable job synthesizing the research and diagnostic complexities surrounding this topic.

We're incredibly grateful to Dr. Simpler, and to every speaker who contributed their time, expertise, and passion to helping our team stay up to date with research and best practices that inform top-tier forensic work.

Thank you, as well, to everyone who joined us throughout our inaugural speaker series. We view continuing education as an investment in better practice, better science, and better service to the individuals and systems we serve, and we're grateful to be in the company of folks who feel similarly.

Cheers to FAST Forward's first year! We're already excited about the outstanding lineup taking shape for our second speaker series.

This Mother’s Day, FAST is celebrating:

🌸 the amazing mothers on our team,
🌼 the people supporting our evaluators behind the scenes,
🌷 and the mothers (literal and figurative!) who raised children thoughtful, curious, empathic, and persistent enough to pursue careers in forensic psychology.

It takes a special kind of person to voluntarily spend years studying psycholegal standards, psychological science, and thousands of pages of records at a time. We suspect it often starts with a pretty special maternal influence.

Happy Mother’s Day from FAST 💐

When American Psychologist accepts your speaker’s manuscript on best practices in immigration evaluations…

…you listen.

In today’s FAST Forward talk, we’re honored to learn from Cassandra Bailey, Ph.D., who is helping our team strengthen our evidence-driven work in a specialty area where the stakes are high and the impact on vulnerable populations is real.