Torres: Florida Tech fills the void amid shortage of mental health evaluators in court

For those of us interested in court cases and following the timelines of certain trials, the proverbial wheels of justice can move painfully slow.

That's nothing new.

But the COVID-19 pandemic slowed things even more as jury trials were put on hold for much of 2020. As trials are back in full swing however, another impediment remains: a shortage of mental health experts to evaluate certain defendants.

 A friend of mine said she takes her daughter to see a psychiatrist in Orlando because of the scarcity locally. A shortage of mental health professionals is causing delays in evaluations that are sometimes required to determine if defendants are competent to stand trial. The shortage affects more than the court system.

That's where a cool new initiative by a Florida Tech professor is helping move cases along here locally in the 18th Judicial Circuit and also providing real-world experience for her students.

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Julie Costopoulos, associate professor in Florida Tech’s School of Psychology and director of the forensic emphasis area of the clinical psychology doctoral program, took action when she heard about the shortage.

“I learned that there was a shortage of evaluators here, and in meetings with judges, attorneys, and the Florida Department of Children and Families, we created this opportunity with students,” Costopoulos said.

The result? The creation of a Court Assessment Team, which Costopoulos directs.

Of course all this had to be approved by the court administrator, the chief judge and the offices of the public defender and the state attorney, who all signed off on the initiative.

The Florida Tech team has conducted nine evaluations since the fall of 2020 with three more underway. Two doctoral students get to do parts of the actual evaluation, working closely with Costopoulos. They administer psychological tests to the defendant and ask questions regarding his or her psychiatric diagnoses and treatment.

Then the students collaborate with Costopoulos on the diagnosis, prognosis and how the person's mental health might impact their legal case. 

"Psychological evaluations by credentialed mental health experts are a fundamental part of due process," said Administrative Judge Jennifer Taylor. "Judges must rely on independent  psychiatric experts to determine whether a defendant is competent to stand trial. We are so grateful to Dr. Costopoulos and the staff at FIT for their help in filling this critical area of need."

The term 'win-win' gets used way too much but it's wholly appropriate here. Florida Tech gets attention for a successful program, the courts get the help they desperately need and the students receive experience vital in landing coveted internships.

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Shannon Cantalupo, a clinical psychology doctoral candidate, was one of the first students to join the Court Assessment Team.

“I believe having this training and experience really stood out during my internship interviews, which can be a very competitive process," she said. "I was lucky enough to match to my first ranked internship site.”

Another CAT participant, Katelyn Goodall, is a fourth-year student in the clinical psychology doctoral program. She, too, has seen how this experience helps land internships and offers opportunities to develop key skills.

So, how rare is something like this? Well, it's the only such program available at a Florida university and is one of only five programs (out of 243) across the country that allow students to attend court evaluations. Not all allow for active participation.

“I didn’t have an opportunity to learn about how to evaluate mentally ill defendants and write reports for judges until after my doctoral program,” said Costopoulos, who is a licensed psychologist. “I feel it is really important to get students involved, in a safe way, much earlier. They have skills they can contribute, and they learn so much by doing it in partnership with a supervisor.”

The 18th Judicial Circuit is one of only three in the state with a mental health court. 

This could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

Contact Torres at 321-242-3684 or at jtorres@floridatoday.com. You can follow him on Twitter @johnalbertorres or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FTjohntorres.

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