RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Conceptualizing the Forensic Psychiatry Report as Performative Narrative JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law SP 32 OP 42 VO 38 IS 1 A1 Ezra E. H. Griffith A1 Aleksandra Stankovic A1 Madelon Baranoski YR 2010 UL http://jaapl.org/content/38/1/32.abstract AB Forensic psychiatry has evolved into a recognized specialty. Two core competencies, often overlooked but commonplace in forensic psychiatry, are the constructing of forensic reports and the presenting of oral testimony. This article concerns the written forensic report and conceptualizes it as performative writing. We first review the development of the forensic report's structure over the past 30 years or so and then apply constructs from other disciplines as we propose a process for creating narrative forensic reports. Such writing is grounded in the discipline of psychiatry, relies on ethics-based principles of respect for persons and truth-telling, and uses language to tell a story that persuades the legal audience. We examine the impact of voice, pitfalls to avoid, and the concepts of witnessing and labeling, as we describe the process of formulating the narrative through the voice of the forensic expert.