Clinical Psychological Evaluations for Pre-Employment Selection

Many organizations employing high-risk positions recognize the need to utilize clinical psychological screens in their selection systems to help protect employees and the public from harm due to ineffective behavior. Methods for the effective, ethical, and legal development and use of clinical psychological evaluations (CPEs) for employee selection, however, have received little attention within the industrial/organizational psychology literature. The present chapter seeks to present a resource for human resources practitioners and industrial/organizational psychologists for appropriately utilizing CPEs within their selection strategy. To best serve practitioners, this chapter presents a definition for the term CPE as compared to more traditional selection methods, discusses the legal context as relevant to organizations, and outlines several challenges for collecting validation evidence. In addition, the authors present a “best practice” model to outline steps practitioners can take to successfully manage and navigate the CPE process, including information regarding the role and technical responsibilities of licensed mental health professionals during this unique stage in the selection process. Our goal is that this chapter will remove much of the uncertainty surrounding the use of CPEs in employee selection and help give practitioners the resources necessary to effectively implement CPEs when needed.