A privately practicing clinical psychologist, Dr. Grace Graham also provides forensic services as a consultant to the court system. Dr. Grace Graham draws on an in-depth knowledge of such legal processes as psychological damage assessment and evaluation of insanity defense.

1. CHARACTERISTICS OF A VALID INSANITY
DEFENSE
Dr Grace Graham

2. INTRODUCTION
 A privately practicing clinical psychologist, Dr. Grace
Graham also provides forensic services as a
consultant to the court system. Dr. Grace Graham
draws on an in-depth knowledge of such legal
processes as psychological damage assessment and
evaluation of insanity defense.
The insanity defense exists so that the criminal
justice system does not unfairly prosecute an
individual who does not have the capability to control
his or her actions. The specific criteria that make the
defense valid, as well as the validity of the defense
itself, depend largely on the state in which the trial
takes place.

3. VALID INSANITY DEFENSE
 However, those who claim “not guilty by reason of
insanity” to a federal crime must prove conclusively that
the defendant could not understand the wrongfulness of
what he or she was doing at the time the wrongful act was
committed.
Clinically, this means that the insanity defense is not valid
for those whose mental illnesses primarily cause
antisocial behaviors, as patients with such diagnoses
typically act out of their own volition. While a number of
other diagnoses do remain as valid options, illnesses that
qualify are typically those with psychotic features and
those that limit an individual's control. Examples include
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia,
and mania.