Benson Psychological Services provides a wide variety of forensic services. Our skilled clinicians are ready and able to complete psychological evaluations with subsequent court testimony on many issues.

Adult Sexual Offender Evaluations

Evaluations on adults who have been charged or convicted of a sexual offense typically include a comprehensive record review, one or more clinical interview(s) with the offender, a battery of psychological testing, and the use of empirically validated actuarial instruments to assess risk to reoffend. The final report will offer a diagnosis, opinion on the individuals risk to reoffend, level of psychopathy and sexual deviancy, treatment amenability and other recommendations as appropriate.

Evaluations on Juveniles Who Have Sexually Offended

Evaluations on juveniles who have sexually offended typically include a comprehensive record review, a clinical interview with the offender, collateral interviews with other significant parties (e.g., adults responsible for the juvenile's care, mental health professionals who provide services to the juvenile, residential treatment staff, probation officer, etc), psychological testing, and empirically guided structured checklists of static and dynamic risk factors. The resultant report would likely identify possible psychosexual disturbances, any predisposition towards sexually abusive behavior (estimated risk to reoffend), as well as, recommendations that are appropriately matched to the juvenile's needs. Given there is no empirical data that supports the predictive validity of actuarial risk assessment tools for juveniles, the overall risk estimate is based on the various sources of information and clinical judgment.

Independent Evaluator in Civil Commitment Cases

Dr. Stacey Benson has been providing independent evaluations for individuals civilly committed at the North Dakota State Hospital for the past 5 years.

These evaluations include a comprehensive review of all available records, psychological testing (when appropriate), scoring of various instruments used in the determination of ones risk to reoffend, clinical interview with the respondent, collateral contact with treatment providers, friends, family and support people in the community, diagnoses and opinion regarding whether the respondent meets criteria for a  Sexually Dangerous Individual as defined by North Dakota Century Code 25-03.3-11.

The final report is typically over 20 pages in length and provides detailed information on the individual, their past history and their progress in treatment.

Child Custody Evaluations

Coming Soon