POSTED: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - 5:50pm
UPDATED: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 9:33am
EL PASO- It can be risky anytime a child testifies in court especially in a murder trial.
Clinical psychologist Richard Patterson says after a child goes through a trauma it's most important that they feel safe. He adds that in a court setting, it's important that the judge and lawyers make the child feel safe because there's always a chance that the kid could be re-traumatized.
"There’s always the chance that the testimony is going to be re-traumatizing because it calls upon the child to remember in detail the events that they have to testify about," says Richard Patterson, Ph.D, Psychologist.
Patterson says there's usually a therapist in the courtroom, when a child testifies.