Both criminal and forensic psychologists work to help law enforcement professionals to solve crimes. The main difference is: forensic psychologists work after crime happened, they evaluate perpetrators mental state and provide counselling to victims and their families.
Criminal psychologists specialises in determining a motive and creating a profile of criminal.
Forensic psychologist is the general term for this field, but I have never heard anyone professionally use the term 'criminal psychologist' because for the most part people avoid using the word criminal, as it is stigmatizing.
right I was also reading that TV actually makes forensic psychology look the opposite of what it really is, and you aren't on the scene like Dexter assessing motives by looking at crime scene positioning, often you are like in the background with the judges making decisions on fitness to stand trial or making risk assessments based off data in many areas, not just criminal. Often forensic psychologists are needed in child custody evaluations, they are also resources for counseling services to victims, and they assess PTSD, and also implement treatment programs.
criminal psychologists work more strictly with criminals, they want to get to know how criminals think and their motivations. Think "Mindhunter" on Netflix, whereas forensic psychology is more about the justice system and how individuals are affected by the justice system and vice versa. They work alongside judges, assessing competency of individuals to appear in court or not, they work with attorneys, police, and institutions.... the "detectives" in the show "Unbelievable" or Pullman in "sinner" come to mind, because often there is a lot more to uncover in terms of the complexity of the individuals involved and they do a competency evaluation, and later on her sentence is lessened due to extreme emotional disturbances. So this is where the forensic psychologists would step in to help the court decide whats best for all involved.
Both criminal and forensic psychologists work to help law enforcement professionals to solve crimes. The main difference is: forensic psychologists work after crime happened, they evaluate perpetrators mental state and provide counselling to victims and their families.
Criminal psychologists specialises in determining a motive and creating a profile of criminal.
Forensic psychologist is the general term for this field, but I have never heard anyone professionally use the term 'criminal psychologist' because for the most part people avoid using the word criminal, as it is stigmatizing.
criminal psychologists work more strictly with criminals, they want to get to know how criminals think and their motivations. Think "Mindhunter" on Netflix, whereas forensic psychology is more about the justice system and how individuals are affected by the justice system and vice versa. They work alongside judges, assessing competency of individuals to appear in court or not, they work with attorneys, police, and institutions.... the "detectives" in the show "Unbelievable" or Pullman in "sinner" come to mind, because often there is a lot more to uncover in terms of the complexity of the individuals involved and they do a competency evaluation, and later on her sentence is lessened due to extreme emotional disturbances. So this is where the forensic psychologists would step in to help the court decide whats best for all involved.