Challenging, Controversial, and Cultural Concerns Issues Involving Third-Party Observers (TPOs) at Forensic Neuropsychological Evaluations in New York State (Self-Study)

  • January 01, 2025

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New York State Association of Neuropsychology (NYSAN) presents a webinar panel with:

Dave Layman, Ph.D., ABPP & Angeles Cheung, Ph.D., ABPP

Challenging, Controversial, and Cultural Concerns Issues Involving Third-Party Observers (TPOs) at Forensic Neuropsychological Evaluations in New York State.

Abstract:

Clinical neuropsychologists practicing forensic evaluations in New York face more issues associated with the presence of a third-party observer (TPO) than any other state in the Union. There are court orders and rulings establishing a right and a precedent for the presence of TPOs in psychological and neuropsychological evaluations in New York. While it is regularly contested on many levels, clinical neuropsychologists face the conflict of whether to test or not-to-test examinee’s when confronted by the demand (usually by plaintiff attorney’s in civil litigation) for the presence of a TPO. The presenters will summarize briefly the professional positions on TPO and address in greater depth the unique issues faced by forensic clinical neuropsychologists in New York. Case examples will be presented, including strategies and tactics aimed to balance professional neuropsychology ethics and standard of practice, maximize evaluation reliability and validity, and minimize harm to the profession, future test utility, and test publishers.

Speaker Bios:

Angeles Cheung is a Chinese-American board-certified clinical neuropsychologist based in NYC, where she has an independent practice providing clinical and forensic neuropsychological services to adults in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. She is a licensed psychologist in NY and other states and enjoys traveling to conduct forensic examinations. She completed her Doctorate in Psychology at the City University of New York's Clinical Psychology program (formerly known as the Neuropsychology Subprogram), specialty training in clinical neuropsychology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Dr. Cheung worked as a staff neuropsychologist in the Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital before returning to NYC, where she worked as a staff neuropsychologist at Mount Sinai Hospital until 2018. She then transitioned to independent practice full-time.  Aside from her independent practice, she teaches a neuropsychology seminar series at Mount Sinai Hospital, mentors student trainees in the practice of clinical neuropsychology and volunteers with the Asian Neuropsychological Association’s Education Committee and AACN’s Publication Committee.

David Layman is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist based in NYC and Westchester County, where he is founder of Advanced Neuropsychology Services, PC, practicing clinical and forensic neuropsychological services and psychotherapy to adults for the past 20+ years. He is a licensed psychologist in NY. He conducts clinical neuropsychological evaluations in clinical practice, in civil litigation and the NFL Baseline Assessment Program. He completed his Doctorate in Psychology at the University of Kentucky with specialty training in clinical neuropsychology at the Salt Lake City VA System in Utah and Mount Sinai Medical Center in NYC. Before full-time independent practice in 2008, Dr. Layman worked as a staff neuropsychologist at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, The Brady Institute (TBI) unit, and Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Layman currently teaches a neuropsychology seminar series and board certification fact-finding seminar to interns and post-docs at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and he mentors early career neuropsychologists in the board certification process. He served as president of the New York State Association for Neuropsychology (NYSAN) in 2016.

Learning Objectives:

  • 1.   Describe relevant professional background and conduct associated with third-party observers (TPO) in clinical neuropsychological evaluation, with a focus on forensic matters
  • 2.   Clarify important controversies associated with TPO in a forensic evaluation–e.g., examinee’s rights vs. examiner’s responsibilities
  • 3.   Identify specific common TPO issues in forensic neuropsychological evaluations in New York State including:

      Limits of confidentiality

      Protection of neuropsychological assessment material

      Cultural variables (e.g., interpreters)

      Evaluation behavior (e.g., interference)

      Social Facilitation

  • 4.      Introduce pertinent case examples of dealing with TPOs in forensic neuropsychological evaluations in New York         
  • 5.      Provide useful relevant ethical and effective solutions and tactics on how to deal with TPO matters in forensic neuropsychological evaluations in New York.

This course is offered for 1.0 CE credits (1 hour)

$10 fee for NYSAN members

$30 fee for non-members


*New York State Association of Neuropsychology is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0052.*

*NYSAN is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. NYSAN maintains responsibility for this program and its content.* 



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