Why We Founded FAST

For over a decade, we saw the same pattern play out across jurisdictions: attorneys struggled to find highly qualified forensic psychologists with availability, cases were delayed for months, and experts were too often forced to choose between timeliness and quality. We knew there had to be a better way.

Although Dr. Ashbaugh and Dr. McLawsen followed different paths into forensic psychology, they arrived at the same conviction: exceptional psycholegal evaluations should be both scientifically rigorous and available when they're needed most. During a rainy hike in February 2024, that shared conviction became FAST.

We didn't set out to build a group practice. We set out to solve a problem.

For years, we watched attorneys, courts, and litigants wait the better part of a year for evaluations that were often needed urgently. At the same time, we watched talented forensic psychologists burn out under unsustainable workloads, professional isolation, and systems that rewarded volume over thoughtful practice.

It never made sense to us that quality and timeliness should be competing goals, or that exceptional forensic work should come at the expense of the people doing it.

So in 2024, we said good riddance to these false choices by building something different.

FAST was founded on a simple idea: evidence-driven forensic evaluations should be timely, scientifically rigorous, and sustainable for everyone involved.

That philosophy shapes every decision we make. We invest in collaboration because difficult cases deserve multiple perspectives. We invest in continuing education because forensic psychology should never stop evolving. We invest in our evaluators because thoughtful work requires thoughtful people.

Our role is not to advocate for one side of a case. Our responsibility is to follow the evidence wherever it leads and communicate our opinions with integrity, impartiality, and clarity.

Today, FAST is a thriving practice with forensic psychologists across the country, united by a shared commitment to evidence-driven practice, scientific rigor, professional integrity, and bringing out the best in one another.

We believe the future of forensic psychology is about more than finding ways to produce more reports faster.

It's about redefining what it means to be FAST: delivering timely, evidence-driven evaluations while building a profession where exceptional work and sustainable careers coexist.