Depends on the kind of case, but in almost any sex offense case or any serious matter, you would want to have a client evaluated by a forensic evaluator to assess them and determine any diagnosis they might have. It could be something like depression, which can be debilitatingly serious but not always compelling to judges or prosecutors.
 

There are also many people in our society right now who, through no fault of their own, suffer from PTSD due to their service to our country or trauma they experienced in childhood or otherwise. Some individuals may not even realize they are affected. These conditions can have a direct correlation with violent acts, so it’s important to learn as much as possible about a client from a credible psychologist that the courts trust.

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Once you get that evaluation, you don’t have to use it unless you believe it helps. Often, people discover things about themselves they weren’t aware of. Some individuals have a long history of mental health problems that they knew about well before the crime occurred. Even in those cases, you still want a recent forensic evaluation that takes advantage of all available records.

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In most situations, you are not raising a legal defense of "not guilty by reason of insanity." Instead, you are providing an explanation of what happened and how treatment could significantly lower the risk of reoffending. The goal is to present the information in a way the judge can understand and empathize with.

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Most mental health disorders—arguably all—are not the individual’s fault. While someone may be responsible for passing up treatment opportunities, that reluctance is often part of the illness itself. There is always an explanation for why someone acts a certain way. It may not always be a mitigating factor, but in many cases, it is. No one will know unless you take the time to dig deep and find the underlying causes.