The Expert Witness: Insulating Against Bias

Credentialing bodies in the field of mental health have tried to create ethical standards that would guide those that conduct forensic work to remain unbiased and produce neutral work. Unlike traditional vocational rehabilitation counseling, forensic rehabilitation counselors produce work that may affect legal proceedings. In these cases, the contracting party may have specific opinions that they want to defend or promote, which may put direct or indirect pressure on the Forensic Rehabilitation Counselor (FRC) to validate the contracting party’s position. This paper explores several biases that can occur when a partisan party contracts an expert witness, and how the FRC can insulate against these biases.