DPA 2025 Annual Conference

Defense teams typically include thinking about trauma experiences and their effects on client behaviors in committing crimes and in potentially mitigating sentences. However, there are also neurophysiological factors that can greatly shape client behaviors in ways that may be hidden from clients’ awareness. This workshop will explore the potential effects of negative events in early life and they ways in which these effects can be manifest in client behaviors. The session includes a review of key factors in early childhood neurodevelopment and the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral effects of early problems in development and how these can be relevant to mitigation and defense team relationships with clients. In part II (offered in the next hour), we will discuss recommendations for interviewing clients and family/other witnesses and data collection will be discussed. Thus, the overall goal of this workshop is to simply increase defense awareness of and confidence in exploring this clearly difficult area.