Dr Mariam Younan1, Ms. Anita McGregor1, Dr. Chantal Bostock1, Mr. Michael Vanderhaven1, Ms Alison O'Ryan2, Ms Isobel McGarity2
1University Of New South Wales, Australia, 2Refugee Advisory Casework Service, Australia
Biography:
Dr Mariam Younan is an Education-Focused Associate Lecturer, forensic psychology researcher, and practitioner whose work focuses on forensic assessment, expert evidence evaluation, persuasion, and decision-making in legal contexts. She completed her Master of Psychology (Forensic) and PhD at UNSW, where her doctoral research examined how persuasive cues influence credibility judgments in forensic settings. Mariam’s research explores bias, assessment practices, expert evidence, and psychologist training and supervision to improve decision-making and professional practice. Alongside supporting the UNSW Master of Psychology (Forensic) program, she conducts forensic assessments and interventions with complex forensic populations across community and custodial settings.
Abstract:
Professional standards increasingly emphasise culturally safe psychological assessment, including cultural bias awareness, appropriate interpreter use, and consideration of assessment tool validity (APA, 2017; AHPRA, 2025). Despite these expectations, training focused on culturally safe assessment with diverse populations remains limited. Reviews suggest that while cultural competence programs can increase knowledge, they are less effective in developing attitudes, awareness, and practical skills, often relying on didactic teaching rather than experiential learning. Furthermore, most research focuses on therapeutic practice, with limited attention to assessment (Benuto et al., 2018; Chu et al., 2022).
Refugee assessment represents an important context for developing culturally safe assessment skills. Australia hosts a growing refugee and asylum seeker population, yet many individuals involved in legal proceedings have limited access to psychological assessments that may provide important evidence within their cases. Simultaneously, psychology trainees often receive little structured training in refugee assessment, despite professional standards requiring awareness of migrant and refugee experiences (AHPRA, 2025). This gap risks suboptimal forensic assessment practices in contexts where cultural, linguistic, political, and trauma-related factors can influence mental health and risk evaluations.
To address this need, the UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice, the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS), and the UNSW Forensic Psychology Clinic established an innovative cross-disciplinary partnership. Through this, supervised provisional psychologists conduct assessments and prepare expert reports for referred refugee clients. This presentation outlines the pedagogical model, specialised training processes, and planned evaluation of trainees’ confidence, competence, preparedness, and attitudes towards culturally safe assessment in refugee contexts and professional practice.