Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Forensic Psychologist.
Dr Harry Wood
I am in full-time independent practice, working as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Forensic Psychologist, providing expert reports to the courts, as well as for the police and HM Prisons and Probation Service. I report to the civil, criminal and family courts, as well as other tribunals.
Typical areas of instruction include:
Criminal:
Assessment of fitness to plead in defendants with learning disabilities; assessment of neurodiversity (autism spectrum disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and impact on behaviour/capacity to engage in proceedings; assessment of risk (sexual offending, violent offending and stalking) to inform sentencing; advising on options for treatment in defendants with personality disorder.
Civil:
Assessment of psychological injuries following accidents; commenting on causation and prognosis in relation to psychological illness following trauma; assessment of psychological harm resulting from medical negligence.
Family:
Assessment of capacity to engage in legal proceedings in cases involving parents with learning disabilities; assessment of risk in parents convicted of sexual offences; commenting on the effect of personality disorder on parents’ ability to care for their children.
My duty is to provide an independent and objective opinion to the Court. I accept instructions from both defence and prosecution in criminal proceedings. I accept instructions from both defendant and claimant in civil cases. I am generally instructed as a single joint expert in family cases.
I am increasingly instructed in cases involving complex issues including homicide/diminished responsibility and have recent experience of involvement in cases that fall under the umbrella of the Official Secrets Act.
I am included on the database of expert witnesses used by the police. I am instructed by officers investigating cases involving complainants or suspects who are vulnerable because of learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, personality disorder and/or other forms of mental disorder.
I previously completed parole board assessments on behalf of HM Prison and Probation Service. These mostly involved life sentence or indeterminate sentence prisoners, who had been convicted of serious offences. I provided live evidence to the parole board on a regular basis.
Since going into full-time independent practice, I have been involved in the assessment and treatment of men with severe and enduring mental health problems convicted of sexual offences in a low secure hospital, and in the development of a medium secure service for men with autism spectrum disorder. I remain involved with my local NHS mental health trust, where I work as an external consultant to the forensic services.
I was employed as an external consultant by the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland, where I assisted a community forensic team with complex cases. My role involved commenting on risk and forensic issues, including capacity, and to advise on case management/treatment.
I have completed psychological assessments in the Caribbean on behalf of a human rights charity, The Death Penalty Project. I was an affiliate lecturer at the University of Huddersfield and a clinical consultant to the editorial board of the Journal of Criminal Psychology. I was a visiting lecturer at other academic institutions, including the University of Leeds, the University of Teesside and the University of Portsmouth. I provided training in working as an expert and in aspects of mental disorder to the national expert witness service Carter Brown.
I am a member of the Expert Witness Institute.
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I was previously employed as Lead Psychologist at a low secure hospital for women with mental health problems and personality disorder. Prior to this I worked at the Yorkshire Centre for Forensic Psychiatry, Newton Lodge Regional Secure Unit, where I was employed as a Consultant Psychologist. I was based in the learning disability service where I provided psychological assessment and intervention for adult men with learning disabilities, mental health problems, personality disorders and offending behaviour. I held this post for six-years.
I was previously employed as a Forensic Clinical Psychologist by South West Yorkshire NHS Trust, low secure services (The Castle Hill Unit and Newhaven; 2002 to 2005) and Rampton High Secure Hospital in the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) service (2005 to 2007). These posts involved providing psychological assessment of personality, mental state and risk, and developing and implementing interventions targeting factors associated with learning disabilities, mental health, personality disorder and offending behaviour. I also have experience of working in a medium secure hospital environment (North Thames Forensic Service, 2001-2002) and have worked with adults with learning disability living within the community (1997-1999). My training as a Clinical Psychologist included 6-month work placements in general psychiatry, older adults (including neuropsychology), Child and Adolescent Mental Health (including Youth Offending Team) and Assertive Outreach.
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Bachelor of Science (BSc) Psychology: University College London, 1996
Master of Science (MSc) Forensic Psychology: University of Surrey, 1999
Doctor of Clinical Psychology (D. Clin. Psy.): University College London: 2002
I am Chartered by the British Psychological Society as a Clinical Psychologist.
I am Registered by the Health Professions Council (HPC) as a Clinical Psychologist and as a Forensic Psychologist.
I am an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (AFBPsS).
I am a Practitioner in Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) and an accredited CAT therapist.
I am a member of the Expert Witness Institute.
I am accredited by the National Autistic Society (NAS) as a DISCO assessor.
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Cartwright, A., Roach, J., Wood., H. & Wood P. (2016). Mental Health Malingering and the Fraudulent Motor Insurance Claimant. Open Access Journal of Forensic Psychology, 8, 1-16.
Long, K., Wood, H., & Holmes, N. (2000). Presentation, assessment and treatment of depression in a young woman with learning disability and autism. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28(3), 102–108.
Moore, E. & Wood, H. (2024). Assessment of a female patient with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder for a First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health). In Psychology and the Law: Case Studies of Expert Witnesses, First Edition. Edited by Leam A Craig, Hugh C. H. Koch, and Gus A. Baker. John Wiley & Sons.
Nathan, R. & Wood, H. (2015). Personality Disorder. The Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Second Edition. Academic Press, Inc.
Nathan, R., Wood, H., Rix, K. & Wright, E. (2003). Long-term psychiatric morbidity in the aftermath of C S spray trauma. Medicine Science and the Law 43, 98-104.
Randal, C. & Wood, H. (2010). What are clinical psychologists doing in a forensic medium secure unit? Clinical Psychology Forum, April 2010, 12-16.
Rayner, K, Wood, H. & Beail, N. (2015). The “double-bind of dependency” Early relationships in men with learning disabilities in secure settings. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43(3), 186-193.
Rayner, K., Wood, H., Beail, N. & Nagra M.K. (2015). Intellectual disability, personality disorder and offending: A systematic review. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 9(2), 50-61.
Wood, H. (2026). Personality Disorder and Diminished Responsibility. In Expert Evidence: A Practitioner’s Guide to Effective Psychological Evidence, First Edition. Edited by Leam A Craig. John Wiley & Sons.
Wood, H. (2020). Reflections on lockdown by a psychologist in fulltime independent practice. Forensic Healthcare Services Expert Forum, 11, 2-5.
Wood, H. & Davies, A. (2024). Psychological Sequelae of Rape and Serious Sexual Assault. Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Third Edition. Elsevier.
Wood, H. & Rix, K. (2016). Common psychiatric, psychological and learning disorders and treatment. Witness Testimony in Sexual Cases: Evidential, Investigative and Scientific Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wood, H., Brown, J. & Wood, P. (2001). Differing approaches to the identification of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome (MBPS): a case of professional training or role of experiential exposure? Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine, 8, 140–150.
Wood, H., Thorpe, L, Read, S., Eastwood, A & Lindley, M. (2008). Service user satisfaction in a low secure forensic learning disability unit. Mental Health and Learning Disability Research and Practice, 5, 176-191.