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I start every course that I teach in forensic psychology by asking my stu- dents to define the term forensic psychology. Technically forensic psychology is defined as the research and application of psychological knowledge to the legal system. Television depicts forensic psychologists as profilers working for the FBI and hunting serial offenders, pitting the profilers’ knowledge against the wits of the criminal. The reality is that this opportunity is limited to a select few. However, when I examine the field, it is one that is truly diverse and includes specialties where clinicians offer their expertise in such areas as competency to stand trial, police psychology, criminal behavior, criminal responsibility, eyewitness testimony/credibility, victimology, trauma, terror- ism, child custody, worker compensation cases, personal injury cases, and cases involving the handicap. The aforementioned list is far from exhaustive rather it is a fair representa- tion of the diversity in the field and its many opportunities. It should also be clear that no one specialty is stand-alone, meaning that other fields interact and have an impact on the clinician’s findings. One could not make a judg- ment of criminal behavior or insanity based on an interview and the admin- istration of an assessment instrument. I would compare the role of a clinician to that of a criminal investigator. A criminal investigator must examine the totality of the circumstances before charges can be filed in court. In compar- ison a clinician must complete a thorough assessment of one’s psychological, biological, and environmental histories, which is the totality of an offender/ Series Foreword