A/Prof. Ashley Batastini1
1Centre For Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Biography:
Ashley Batastini is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science at Swinburne University of Technology. Her work broadly focuses on novel intervention strategies for higher-risk populations and ways to improve access to appropriate services at various stages of legal involvement. Dr. Batastini has over 60 academic publications and her projects have been funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration and the American Psychological Foundation. Dr. Batastini is currently a member of American Psychological Association’s Office of Health Care Innovation Advisory Committee for Mental Health Technology.
Abstract:
Despite a growing body of research supporting the use of technologies such as videoconferencing to conduct a variety of psychological services, pre-COVID adoption by the forensic mental health community was comparatively slower, with many clinicians focusing on concerns about the validity of psycho-legal opinions, admissibility in court, ethics, logistics, and clinical barriers rather than the ways in which technology could be used to improve the efficiency, quality, and accessibility of our work. But how far have we come in perceiving videoconferencing technologies as a viable method of service delivery, and where has existing literature fallen short on providing evidence-based practice guidance? This presentation will briefly review the benefits of leveraging technology to the advantage of forensic clinicians and clients, the research progression regarding perceptions and frequency of use, existing outcome data between in-person and videoconferenced services, and remaining research gaps. Attendees will be exposed to recent resources (i.e., Recommendations for the Use of Telepsychology in Psychology-Law Practice and Research; Batastini, Guyton et al., 2023) that may be uniquely useful to their practice. Finally, because forensic mental health providers are likely to encounter technology in other forms and for other purposes, attendees will gain some awareness about emerging areas of technology relevant to forensic services (e.g., machine learning in violence risk prediction). Forensic mental health professionals are ultimately responsible for staying up to date with new developments in technology, as well as any professional guidance, research, or training requirements related to these developments.