NAPD 2025 Team Mitigation Institute

Faulty mental health diagnoses refer to inaccurate or incorrect diagnoses of mental health
conditions. This session examines the long term impact of mis-diagnoses, missed diagnoses,
and the resulting collateral consequences when justice-involved clients suffer these systemic
injustices. Identifying and addressing these misdiagnoses is significant for several reasons:
1) a large majority of public defense clients are from minority and or marginalized groups who
are more likely to incur harsher sentences; 2) ensure Diversion programs are accessible and
appropriate for addressing client issues; 3) assist in reduction of recidivism by ensuring public
defense clients have culturally sensitive and unbiased assessments. When public defense
clients are faced with the loss of their freedom, public defense clinicians and mitigation
specialists are in the unique position to accomplish this social justice focused strategy.

Objectives:
1. Understand the historical context of mis-diagnoses, labels, and bias from an anti-oppressive
and anti-racist lens.
2. Examine how to exact a thorough examination of psychological, psychiatric, and other
clinical evaluations to ensure the completion of a defense-based review.
3. Conceptualize a practical “remapping” application in order to accomplish this work from a
defense-based strategy.