Legal and forensic psychology in Latin America

Abstract

Legal and Forensic Psychology has been an area of recent development in Latin America, although it had its origins in the first decades of the twentieth century. This chapter analyzes the law-psychology relationship, the training of forensic and legal psychologists at the undergraduate and graduate levels, the roles of the psychologist, the relationships with other professionals such as lawyers and psychiatrists, the organizations related to justice in Latin America, and the associations of legal and forensic psychologists and their role in the development of the profession. The author includes in her analysis a wide range of Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay.