Professor Alfred Allan

Alfred Allan is qualified in law and psychology and is registered as both a clinical and forensic psychologist in Western Australia. He is a member of the inaugural Psychologists Board of Australia and as Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).  He is currently the Chair of the APS College of Forensic Psychologists, a former Chair of the Ethics Committee of the APS and a member of the Ethical Guidelines Committee of the APS.  An important focus of his practice, teaching and research has been in the areas of health and professional law, ethics, policy and practice.  During the last 13 years one of his research interests has been apology, forgiving and reconciliation, specifically with reference to harm suffered as a result of human rights abuse, crime and adverse incidents in health. His most recent research has focussed on the development of a theory of apology that can be used in empirical research and practice.   He publishes in legal, medical, psychiatric and psychological journals and in his recent publications in refereed journals he examined the use of apologies in various areas of law, including tort cases flowing from adverse medical incidents. He is the author of a number of books, including The law for psychotherapists and counsellors which is in its second edition; and An international perspective of law and ethics in psychology; and he is co-editor of Ethical practice in psychology - Reflections from the creators of the APS Code of Ethics that is due to be published early in 2010.

Apology, remorse and forgiving, including open disclosure in health settings

Mental health law, policy, ethics and professional practice

Violent offending (including sexual and intimate partner violence)

Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Family Law
Paper presented at Family Court of Western Australia's "In the Child's Best Interest" Conference held in Perth on 9 November 2001

Allan, S., & Dawson, D. (2002). Developing a unique risk of violence tool for Australian Indigenous offenders (No. CRC 6/00-01). Canberra: Criminology Research Council.

Open Disclosure: A Review of the Literature
Allan, A., & Munro, B. (October 2008)

Implementing the Australian Open Disclosure Standard: The legal situation in Western Australia
Allan, A. (November 2008)

Intimate partner abuse of men
Client violence as experienced by Australian psychologists working in a clinical setting
Open disclosure in psychology: Professional and ethical implications