Suzanne Blackwell | |
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 Blackwell in October 2024 | |
| Awards | Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
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| Doctoral advisor | Fred Seymour |
Suzanne Joy Yerex Blackwell MNZM is a New Zealand clinical psychologist, and holds an honorary position at the University of Auckland. In 2024 Blackwell was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to clinical and forensic psychology and the law.
Blackwell completed a PhD titled Child sexual abuse on trial at the University of Auckland in 2007. [1] She is an honorary academic at the university. [2] Blackwell is a clinical psychologist who works in the areas of child sexual abuse and professional ethics. [3] Blackwell has appeared as an expert witness at a number of court trials, including that of Peter Ellis, where she was a witness for the Crown. [4] [5] [6]
Blackwell has researched how a juror's misconceptions about sexual abuse might affect their decision-making in court, and has provided expert evidence to courts on counter-intuitive behaviour in complainants, such as why complainants might delay taking action, retract their complaints, or might stay in contact with abusers. [3]
Blackwell has chaired conduct committees for the New Zealand Board of Psychologists. [3] She co-founded the Family Court Psychologists’ Specialist Report Writers Association. [3] Blackwell was an editor and author of the 2018 Psychology and the Law in Aotearoa New Zealand. [3]
In 2011 Blackwell was awarded the Ballin Award by the New Zealand Psychological Society for her contribution to clinical psychology. [7] In the 2024 King's Birthday Honours Blackwell was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to clinical and forensic psychology and the law. [3]
Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods to assist in answering legal questions that may arise in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes research on various psychology-law topics, such as: jury selection, reducing systemic racism in criminal law, eyewitness testimony, evaluating competency to stand trial, or assessing military veterans for service-connected disability compensation. The American Psychological Association's Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists reference several psychology sub-disciplines, such as: social, clinical, experimental, counseling, and neuropsychology.
Elizabeth F. Loftus is an American psychologist who is best known in relation to the misinformation effect, false memory and criticism of recovered memory therapies.
Legal psychology is a field focused on the application of psychological principles within the legal system and its interactions with individuals. Professionals in this area are involved in understanding, assessing, evaluating potential jurors, investigating crimes and crime scenes, conducting forensic investigations The term "legal psychology" distinguishes this practical branch of psychology from the more theory-oriented field of clinical psychology.
Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiatry in which scientific and clinical expertise is applied in legal contexts involving civil, criminal, correctional, regulatory, or legislative matters, and in specialized clinical consultations in areas such as risk assessment or employment." A forensic psychiatrist provides services – such as determination of competency to stand trial – to a court of law to facilitate the adjudicative process and provide treatment, such as medications and psychotherapy, to criminals.
Recovered-memory therapy (RMT) is a catch-all term for a controversial and scientifically discredited form of psychotherapy that critics say utilizes one or more unproven therapeutic techniques to purportedly help patients recall previously forgotten memories. Proponents of recovered memory therapy claim, contrary to evidence, that traumatic memories can be buried in the subconscious and thereby affect current behavior, and that these memories can be recovered through the use of RMT techniques. RMT is not recommended by professional mental health associations. RMT can result in patients developing false memories of sexual abuse from their childhood and events such as alien abduction which had not actually occurred.
Don't Tell is a May 2017 Australian drama film directed by Tori Garrett and starring Jack Thompson, Aden Young and Sara West. It was based on the 2017 novel of the same name by solicitor Stephen Roche.
Peter Hugh McGregor Ellis was a New Zealand childcare worker who was wrongfully convicted of child sexual abuse. He was at the centre of one of the country's most enduring judicial controversies, after being found guilty in June 1993 in the High Court on 16 counts of sexual offences involving children in his care at the Christchurch Civic Creche and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. He maintained his innocence until his death 26 years later and was supported by many New Zealanders in his attempts to overturn his convictions, although others believed he was guilty. Concerns about the reliability of the convictions centred on far-fetched stories told by many of the children and the interview techniques used to obtain their testimony.
Ronald Lindsay André "Ron" Langevin is a Canadian forensic psychologist at the University of Toronto. He is the founding editor of Annals of Sex Research, now titled Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment.
Judith L. Daylen(previously Cutshall) is a board-certified psychologist. In 1982, she received her B.A. in psychology and philosophy from the University of North Carolina. In 1985, Dr. Daylen received her M.A. in cognitive psychology, and in 1994 she received her PH.D. in clinical psychology both from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Daylen currently works as a clinical and consulting psychologist- she assesses the harm suffered to sexual assault victims and provides expert testimony in court. Recently, Dr. Daylen has focused on providing psychological assessments of victims of physical and sexual assault; however, she has past experience in providing both individual and group treatment to assault victims. To better understand the experience of assault victims and to assist them during times of crisis, Dr. Daylen also volunteered at a rape crisis center. She has even contributed to a book: "Trauma, Trials, and Transformation, Guiding sexual assault victims through the legal system and beyond". In addition to her work with sexual assault victims, Dr. Daylen has contributed to assessing the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Along with John C. Yuille in 1986, Dr. Daylen published a psychological experiment which concluded that eyewitness testimony is often reliable and has merit. Dr. Daylen is also an ordained lay practitioner of Zen Buddhism.
Felicity Anne Goodyear-Smith is a medical doctor, academic, and public health advocate from New Zealand. She is Academic Head of Department & Goodfellow Postgraduate Chair of General Practice & Primary Health Care in the Faculty of Medical and Health Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Kerry Lynn Gibson is a South African-New Zealand clinical psychologist and academic, specialising in youth mental health. She is a professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. Gibson was the president of the New Zealand Psychological Society, from 2014 until 2016.
Rachel Zajac is a New Zealand forensic psychologist and professor at the University of Otago in Dunedin.
Makarena Diana Dudley, also known as Margaret Dudley, is a New Zealand clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist and academic, specialising in neuropsychology, dementia and Māori health psychology research. She is currently one of the co-directors of the clinical psychology programme at the University of Auckland. In 2016, Dudley became the first permanent Māori clinical psychology lecturer employed at the University of Auckland. Dudley's iwi include Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kahu.
Max Wenden Abbott is a New Zealand psychologist. He served as director of the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation from 1981 to 1991. An expert in gambling addiction, he was a professor at Auckland University of Technology from 1991 to 2020, when he resigned following an allegation of sexual harassment.
Waikaremoana Waitoki is a New Zealand clinical psychologist, academic, and former president of the New Zealand Psychological Society from 2020 until 2022. She is an associate professor at the University of Waikato, and focuses her research on indigenous psychology, Mātauranga Māori and cultural competency.
Apaula Julia Ioane is a Samoan New Zealand clinical psychologist and academic, and is a full professor in the School of Psychology at Massey University, specialising in childhood trauma, family violence and youth offending.
Eileen Frances Britt is a New Zealand academic psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Canterbury, specialising in motivational interviewing.
Virginia Violet Williams McIntosh is a New Zealand clinical psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Canterbury, specialising in improving therapy outcomes for disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, depression and anxiety.
Bridgette Masters-Awatere is a New Zealand academic and practising psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Waikato, specialising in Māori psychology and health.
Miriam Edna Saphiranée Gibson is a New Zealand lesbian activist, poet, artist and psychologist. Saphira founded New Zealand's only museum of lesbian culture, the Charlotte Museum. Saphira was awarded a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal, and in 2022 was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the LGBTQIA+ community.
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