About

Strong Clinical Skills and Specialized Knowledge in Forensic Assessment

Dr. Rogstad has been conducting forensic mental health assessments since 2011. She has worked as a licensed psychologist conducting forensic evaluations full-time since 2014. She is currently licensed to practice psychology in Minnesota and Iowa. Additionally, Dr. Rogstad’s Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) authorizations allow her to practice both in person and virtually in more than 40 states across the country. She has been board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology since 2020.

Education and Clinical Training in Forensic Psychology

Dr. Rogstad completed her doctoral degree at the University of North Texas. She accrued extensive experience in criminal forensic evaluation in correctional and inpatient forensic hospital settings across a wide array of psycholegal referral questions throughout her clinical and forensic training.

During her graduate studies, Dr. Rogstad completed a one-year, part-time externship through the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Medical Center–Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, where she conducted forensic assessments with female federal detainees under the supervision of a licensed psychologist.

Dr. Rogstad placed for her full-time, year-long predoctoral internship at the highly competitive, forensic-focused BOP site, the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (USMCFP) in Springfield, Missouri. As both a prison and a psychiatric hospital for federal inmates, the USMCFP houses male offenders across all security levels who present with a diverse array of personality, psychotic, mood, trauma-related, anxiety, and cognitive disorders.

Dr. Rogstad spent another year conducting forensic assessments during her postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology with Mendota Mental Health Institute and Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Wisconsin. These state, forensic psychiatric hospitals house individuals committed under various statutory provisions (e.g., competency restoration, post-adjudication for a mental illness defense, or sexually violent persons).

Professional Experience

Dr. Rogstad has worked since 2014 for the Minnesota Judicial Branch, where she conducts clinical forensic evaluations with court-involved adults. She has expertise with psychological evaluations in both criminal (e.g., competency to proceed, sanity, and risk assessments) and civil (e.g., civil commitment and capacity to refuse psychiatric medications) matters. She also works with other court stakeholders on specialized taskforces to address forensic examination quality and legislative changes.

Dr. Rogstad serves as the Training Director for the Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forensic Psychology within the Minnesota Judicial Branch. In this position, she coordinates the training, education, and supervision of postdoctoral fellows pursuing specialized training in forensic assessment before independent practice and licensure.

The Training Director is a leadership position that requires an in-depth understanding of the ethics, psycholegal referral questions, evaluation methods, and case law that governs the practice of forensic psychology. Dr. Rogstad has extensive experience supervising fellows in the provision of forensic psychological services, production of forensic evaluation reports, and delivery of expert testimony.

Solid Foundation in Research Methods and the Empirical Study of Forensic Psychological Concepts

Dr. Rogstad understands the importance of the scientist-practitioner model when employing the best practices of forensic mental health assessment to achieve evidence-based results and defensible conclusions.

Dr. Rogstad’s strong research background allows her to evaluate the empirical basis and quality of various assessment tools and methods pertinent to forensic evaluation. Her doctoral degree, a Ph.D., reflects her solid background in conducting and evaluating clinical and forensic research.

Dr. Rogstad first conducted independent research during her senior honors thesis on the emotional processing deficits in psychopathic individuals as an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin. During her graduate work at the University of North Texas, she studied under the mentorship of a leading, prominent forensic psychologist who has contributed considerably to the research literature in this field.

As a graduate student, Dr. Rogstad coordinated and worked on programmatic research funded by the National Science Foundation that investigated the comprehensibility of Miranda warnings, factors that impact Miranda waiver decisions, and the development and validation of the Structured Assessment of Miranda Abilities (Rogers et al., 2012). Her work in this domain gives her unique expertise in evaluating the psychometric qualities of forensic assessment instruments.

Dr. Rogstad conducted independent research focused on gender differences in psychopathy, emotional processing, personality disorders, and risk assessment. She published and presented at academic conferences extensively in these areas before transitioning into clinical forensic practice. These experiences make her a particularly well-rounded forensic psychologist with considerable expertise in the evaluation and selection of quality, evidence-based assessment methods.

Board Certification in Forensic Psychology

Dr. Rogstad is board certified in forensic psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). As such, she is considered a specialist in forensic psychology by the American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP) and a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP).

The ABPP credential is the only recognized specialty board certification for psychological practice in the country. There are roughly 370 board-certified forensic psychologists in the United States. Although not required to practice within this field, the credential signals the exceptional quality of practice that has been vetted and endorsed by leaders within the field.

The ABPP website notes that the credential “has been recognized by judicial decisions, regulations, and statutes in some jurisdictions as the standard of professional competence in forensic psychology.” Candidates for board certification through the ABPP and ABFP complete a lengthy, multiple step process of examination that employs a rigorous standard for credential and practice sample review and written and oral examination.

The ABPP credential reflects the highest level of ethical, skilled practice and extensive knowledge of forensic psychological principles. Consequently, Dr. Rogstad’s board certification makes her uniquely qualified to evaluate and address complex psycholegal questions.

American Board of Forensic Psychology Examination Faculty

Since 2022, Dr. Rogstad also has been a member of the ABFP’s examination faculty. Only a small proportion of board-certified specialists are selected for this honor, as examination faculty members are tasked with maintaining and enforcing the high standards for quality of practice and forensic knowledge that typify board certification in this field.

Examination faculty members (1) review the work samples submitted by psychologists pursuing board certification and (2) conduct oral examinations of these candidates as the final stage of the certification process. Faculty members ensure that board-certified specialists exhibit the high standard of practice, commitment to quality and ethics, and extensive knowledge base necessary for the ABPP credential.

In this role, Dr. Rogstad reviews many evaluation reports submitted by candidates to assess their quality and consistency with ABPP and ABFP standards. She also chairs and serves on biannual oral examination committees to determine whether candidates exhibit the depth of forensic knowledge and high quality of practice exemplified by board-certified specialists. Additionally, Dr. Rogstad presents at conferences and workshops for the AAFP, which serves as the training arm of ABFP.