Sweets

[a_blackpanther]

I've been watching this other TV show, Bones. They have a psychologist on the team too. Except they can't seem to make up their minds if he's a therapist for the FBI or a profiler. I know a psychologist can be a profiler, but on CM besides Reid no one has a formal training as a psychologist. My question is how does this work at the FBI? Do their therapists also do consults on cases as profilers? Hotch saw a therapist after Mayhem who wasn't necessarily a profiler, but Rossi also mentions they wrote the questions on the eval.

Also, how long does the behavioural analysis training last in the FBI academy?And what does it entail? Is it focused on the criminal aspect or is it a bit more general?

I'm asking those of you who are studying for this, or who have done more research (and know where to look better than i do)?

edit: a bit of clarification

Comments

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Actually, the FBI prefers applicants with law and accounting and engineering degrees. That part of the show is more accurate than if they were all psychologists. (Gideon was a Ph.D. psych eta--see discussion above.)

Behavioral analysts are drawn from the ranks of regular RBI field agents, not specially hired. (They must have made an exception for Reid, because of his gifts.)

John Douglas talks about the screening process when he was with the unit here:

http://www.johndouglasmindhunter.com/faqs/index.php

[flameturnedblue.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link - very interesting!

Generally, the FBI seeks individuals with varied backgrounds, but if you look at the FBI BAU info page (someone posted a link somewhere in this discussion), the BAU, as a specialist unit, requires people preferably with advanced degrees in social/behavioral sciences.

An agent with Reid's abilities would be an asset to any unit...he's a genius-infosponge-pipecleaner-with-eyes! Not to mention the eidetic memory...

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I think that's actually the B_S_U, which is a different (teaching) unit. Which teaches behavioral sciences, as opposed to providing profiles.

The BAU is a unit spun off from the BAU by Douglas and Ressler (and others), if I have the chronology right, and they provide investigative support and are made up of field agents.