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Magen M. Hauser, PsyD, is a 2025 graduate of the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, Seattle.

Dissertation Committee:

Jude Bergkamp, PsyD, Committee Chair

Michael Toohey, PhD, Committee Member

Gwen Vogel Mitchell, PsyD, Committee Member

Keywords

forensic psychology, forensic evaluation, cultural responsiveness, bias, objectivity, social justice

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

Forensic psychologists are held to culturally responsive standards by the American Psychological Association, which reflect the latest research calling for professionals to acknowledge and reflect on power, privilege, and biases within themselves, their practice, and other elements of their work. However, forensic psychology has not kept pace with this movement. Additionally, the credibility and livelihood of forensic evaluators and their professional judgments rely on their ability to be as objective and unbiased as possible. Often, the idea of focusing on one’s own identities and biases as the evaluator is conflated with a lack of objectivity. This perceived conflict of expectations leaves forensic evaluators struggling to integrate cultural responsiveness into their work in a way that honors both. Using a grounded theory methodology, this study uncovered a co-created process in which the system of forensic psychology and the individuals operating within it perpetuate a cycle of insularity, recycling the same information and keeping cultural responsiveness to remain outside of it. This process is rooted in White, oppressive forces that perpetuate the status quo and do not allow for meaningful change in the direction of cultural responsiveness and social justice. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohio Link ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/

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Magen M. Hauser, PsyD, 2025

ORCID Scholar No. 0009-0006-6373-6869

Magen Hauser earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Music at Valparaiso University in 2017. She went on to earn her M.A. in International Disaster Psychology at the University of Denver in 2019, then practiced as a mental health counselor and psychometrist throughout Colorado, Montana, Washington, and Liberia, West Africa. Throughout her doctoral training at Antioch University Seattle, she has completed various projects and publications focused on cultural responsiveness, objectivity/bias, and social justice issues in both clinical and forensic psychology. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Office of Forensic Mental Health Services in Tacoma, WA and graduated with a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2025. She will go on to complete her postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at Forensic Services in St. Peter, MN. Outside of the psychology world, Magen is a dog parent, and semi-professional flutist, and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse communities.

Bergkamp, J., Hauser, M., & Wachsmuth, W. (2023). Filling the void: Questioning the notion of objective threat assessment and management. Journal of Threat Assessment and
Management, 10(2), 80–98. https://doi.org/10.1037/tam0000188

Bergkamp, J., McIntyre, K. A., & Hauser, M. (2023). An uncomfortable tension: Reconciling
the principles of forensic psychology and cultural competency. Law and Human Behavior, 47(1), 233–248. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000507

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