For solicitors or other instructing parties

Establish at the beginning whether the psychologist is able to do the work – is it within their area of expertise?

Be clear about timescales. In general Marilyn Sher can file reports within 6 weeks of receiving instructions and the dossier of information. In some instances, this may be done sooner, but this needs to be established at the earliest point

Provide as detailed instructions as you can. It is always helpful to think about exactly what questions you want the psychologist to answer in their report.

Examples of instructions received in the past include:

• Undertake an assessment of risk of violent reoffending and outstanding treatment needs, if any

• Please comment on suitability for release into the community

• Establish the clients ability to participate in the trial process, considering their mental illness

• How does the client’s learning disability impact on their ability to give evidence in court?

• Provide an explanation for the clients current presentation as aggressive and controlling

• Offer a view on the sexual offending work the client has undertaken, and whether this has effectively reduced their risk

• Comment on the suitability of the professionals approach to undertaking an assessment of learning disability

• Explore how the clients early life experiences/abuse impact on their current presentation

• Provide an analysis of the incident where X made threats to kill staff. Comment on whether this could be considered an indicator of risk in the community