Table 1

Comparison of Forensic and Collateral Interviewing

DimensionForensic EvaluationCollateral Interview
Time InvolvedDepends on the psycholegal question: two to 10 hours is not unusualBriefer. Typically, 20 minutes to one hour
Consent and warning about limits of confidentialityRoutine and considered mandatoryNo definitive guidance set forth in the SGFP.17 AAPL Guidelines18 suggest warning collateral sources about limits of confidentiality and informing them about how information will be used.
Scope of interviewDepends on the referral question, but often quite inclusiveTypically, more narrowly focused
Degree of structureA mixture of unstructured interviewing and standardized queriesSemi-structured interview. Sometimes highly structured and focused, such as in the AAIDD Diagnostic Adaptive Behavior Scales27 or other structured measures of adaptive behaviors.