Applied legal psychology, or forensic psychology, is, depending on the definition, well over a century old (Köhler & Scharmach, 2013). Since the 1980s, legal psychology has established itself as a subdiscipline of psychology and differentiated into various areas of specialization. While other subfields of psychology are well-connected and numerous directories exist to facilitate the quick location of licensed colleagues, the landscape of legal psychology remains largely opaque and fragmented even 40 years later. Although a register exists maintained by the German Association of Psychologists (BDP) and its subsidiary, the German Psychologists Academy (DPA), it only includes specialist psychologists in legal psychology and if far short of covering the majority of colleagues working as expert witnesses who do not have specialized training or who have acquired their expertise through a master’s degree in legal psychology. Furthermore, it offers only limited information beyond this.

Especially in teaching settings, students frequently approach lecturers with questions regarding the availability of internships, research assistant positions, or onboarding after graduation. The information provided is usually based on word of mouth and is rarely up-to-date. Continuing education opportunities organized by various professional associations are generally only found on their respective websites and require targeted research. Furthermore, the landscape of expert witnesses is complex and confusing for commissioning institutions such as courts and public prosecutors’ offices, often necessitating numerous phone calls to obtain expert opinions.

To address these and other problems, the Center of Independent Experts (ZUS) in Hamburg launched the project Rechtspsychologie.Online (https://www.rechtspsychologie.online/). This is a free directory by and for legal psychologists. Any expert can create a digital profile there. The only mandatory information is their name and address, which are used to display their location on a map of Germany. Numerous additional details can be added upon request, such as further contact information, a website address, availability for new assignments, internship opportunities, requests for student assistants, or specific areas of expertise in the form of keywords. This allows other experts, students, and clients to search specifically using a wide range of criteria. For example, students can search for nearby practices offering onboarding or seeking student assistants, clients can see with a single click which experts currently have available capacity, and colleagues with similar areas of expertise can be quickly found, for example, to form peer supervision groups. The entries in the directory can be updated and edited by their creators. Legal Psychology.Online is free of charge and can be used immediately.

Psych. M.Sc. Sven Ritter

Specialist psychologist for legal psychology according to BDP/DGPs
Center of Independent Experts Hamburg

literature

Köhler, Denis & Scharmach, Katrin. (2013). On the history of legal psychology using the example of the legal psychology section of the BDP. Practice of Legal Psychology. 455-468.

Published in: “The Networking of Legal Psychology.” Practice of Legal Psychology. (2/2022). Web: https://www.praxis-der-rechtspsychologie.de/