What is the difference between the roles of a forensic psychological examiner and a treating clinician?

The clinical relationship is based upon "basic trust" in which the client/patient is taken at face value. The forensic evaluation is founded in "basic distrust" in which efforts are made to corroborate all information used in making a decision. Combining roles of treater and forensic examiner is discouraged by ethical standards promulgated by psychology and psychiatry.
"Mental health professionals who treat individuals cannot competently or ethically provide expert testimony because of irreconcilable differences between the therapeutic and forensic roles."
 
"A competent forensic examiner should be skeptical, verify self-reports, integrate data gathered by different methods, and reach conclusions that are accurate and objective although not necessarily therapeutic."
 
"A competent therapist should be empathetic and accepting. Because the information that therapists routinely gather is rarely verified, it is inadequate to provide reliable information to address ... psycholegal issues."  [From Rogers and Shuman (2000)]


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