This subject, written for psychiatrists, is of importance and relevance to psychiatrists dealing with apsects of the practice that cross with legal professionals and with school and corporate professionals. This subject of Forensic Psychiatry presents topics on: Psychopharmacologic treatment of aggression; Assessment of blackouts and claimed amnesia; Forensic assessment of bullying; Testamentary capacity and guardianship assessments; Psychological testing and the assessment of malingering; Child murder by parents; Mass murderers: who are they and how might we stop them?; Child pornography and the Internet; Do's and don'ts of depositions; Juvenile offenders: Updates on competency and culpability; The role of the forensic psychiatrist in the immigration process; and Psychiatric Management of the Problematic Employee. The topics are presented to include coverage of Nature and Definition of the Problem, Physical Examination, Evaluation, Competency Evaluation, Clinical Assessment Strategies, Psychiatric Testing Strategies, Reaching an Opinion, with Key Points of every topic.

This issue provides a unique and valuable perspective on forensic matters in child and adolescent psychiatry, with an approach that adds new thinking to the discussion, rather than rehashing known facts. The issue is divided into several sections: juvenile offenders, family law/custody and visitation, child maltreatment, personal injury law suits, forensic issues in clinical child and adolescent psychiatry, and training in child and adolescent psychiatry. A wide range of topics are explored within each section. All articles are geared toward child psychiatrists in clinical practice, providing practical information in this very important area of study.

This issue provides a unique and valuable perspective on forensic matters in child and adolescent psychiatry, with an approach that adds new thinking to the discussion, rather than rehashing known facts. The issue is divided into several sections: juvenile offenders, family law/custody and visitation, child maltreatment, personal injury law suits, forensic issues in clinical child and adolescent psychiatry, and training in child and adolescent psychiatry. A wide range of topics are explored within each section. All articles are geared toward child psychiatrists in clinical practice, providing practical information in this very important area of study.

General clinicians conduct most forensic psychiatric examinations and provide most psychiatric testimony. Yet these clinicians often receive little or no training in forensic psychiatry, leaving them ill prepared to meet the inevitable ethical and legal challenges that arise. Both timely and informative, this textbook is the first reference designed and written for both the general clinician and the experienced forensic psychiatrist. Here, 28 recognized experts introduce the forensic subjects that commonly arise in clinical practice. Unique in the literature, this outstanding collection covers • Introductory subjects—Organized psychiatry and forensic practice; the legal system and the distinctions between therapeutic and forensic roles; business aspects of starting a forensic practice; the role of the expert witness; the differences between the ethics of forensic and clinical psychiatry; the use of DSM in the courtroom; and issues that arise in working with attorneys• Civil litigation—The standard of care and psychiatric malpractice; civil competency; issues in conducting evaluations for personal injury litigation; personal injury claims of psychiatric harm; and disability determination and other employment-related psychiatric evaluations• Criminal justice—Competency to stand trial and insanity evaluations; the use of actuarial and clinical assessments in the evaluation of sexual offenders; psychiatry in correctional settings; and the relationship between psychiatry and law enforcement, including mental health training, crisis negotiation, and fitness for duty evaluations• Special topics—Assessment of malingering; evaluations of children and adolescents; violence risk assessments; the use of prediction instruments to determine "dangerousness"; and the evolving standard of expert psychological testimony Each chapter is organized around case examples and includes a review of key concepts, practical guidelines, and references for further reading. A study guide is also available for use in teaching, in studying, and in preparing for the forensic board examination. This practical textbook makes this interesting specialty accessible to trainees and seasoned practitioners. With its detailed glossary of legal terms, subject index, and index of legal cases, it will be a welcome addition to all psychiatric residency and forensic fellowship programs.

This book provides an overview of forensic psychiatry, focusing on the provision of care in Europe as well as the legal and ethical challenges posed by long-term stays in forensic settings. Forensic psychiatric services provide care and treatment for mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) in secure in-patient facilities as well as in the community. These services are high-cost/low-volume services; they pose significant restrictions on patients and hence raise considerable ethical challenges. There is no agreed-upon standard for length of stay (LoS) in secure settings and patients’ detainment periods vary considerably across countries and even within the same jurisdiction. Thus far, little research has been conducted to identify factors associated with length of stay; consequently, it remains unclear how services should be configured to meet the needs of this patient group. This volume fills some of those gaps. Furthermore, it presents new research on factors associated with length of stay, both patient-related and organisational. Various approaches to the provision of care for long-term patients in different countries are explored, including a few best practise examples in this specific area of psychiatry. The book also addresses the perspective of those working in forensic care by reviewing quality-of-life research and interviews with patients. The authors of this volume come from a range of professional backgrounds, ensuring a certain breadth and depth in the topic discussion, and even includes patients themselves as (co-)authors.

Forensic psychiatry (the interface of psychiatry and the law), forensic psychology, and mental health law are growing and evolving subspecialties in their respective larger disciplines. Topics included in these fields include a range as diverse as capital sentencing guidelines, informed consent, and standards of care for mental health treatment. All of these topics need to be understood and mastered by clinicians, educators, administrators and attorneys working with psychiatric patients. This book brings together concise, comprehensive summaries of the most important "landmark" legal decisions relating to mental health practice in the United States. These decisions, along with their underlying reasonings, make up a critical portion of the national certification examination for forensic psychiatry offered by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). Many of the themes are also tested in the ABPN certification examination for general psychiatry. This book is the first to provide a combination of summaries of the relevant legal content paired with board-style test questions designed to help consolidate knowledge and prepare for certification. Cases with similar themes are grouped together with an eye toward helping the reader understand the evolution of legal and clinical thinking on a particular topic. This book represents an important addition to the study tools and textbooks available related to psychiatry and the law and will serve as a useful reference for clinicians who must follow established legal requirements in their field.

During the 1980s, those of us who were involved in forensic psychiatry have seen an increase in the interest in our subspecialty. This increased interest has been from psychiatrists, lawyers, judges, and correctional officials as well. As a part of this demand for our services, there has also been an increase in the demand for detailed quality in our reports and testimony. Whether this is the result of the educational efforts of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, the establishment of the American Board of Forensic Psychiatry, the stimulation of thought by the publication of this series, Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law, or Supreme Court decisions such as Ake v Oklahoma is anybody's guess. My experience as an observer of the development of the patient's rights movement was that there was a coalescence of numerous forces, such as the new human rights movement, the active mental health bar, and the development of neuroleptics. I therefore suspect that there are a multitude of factors contributing to the new interest in forensic psychia try and the elevation of the standards of forensic experts. Regardless of the causes, those who are practicing forensic psychiatry today are ex pected to conduct more thorough evaluations and to report findings more completely. No longer will simple conclusory statements be accept able. The forensic psychiatrist is expected to present data in a clear, understandable, detailed, reliable, and competent fashion whether testi fying or in a report.

Forensic psychiatry (the interface of psychiatry and the law), forensic psychology, and mental health law are growing and evolving subspecialties in their respective larger disciplines. Topics included in these fields include a range as diverse as capital sentencing guidelines, informed consent, and standards of care for mental health treatment. All of these topics need to be understood and mastered by clinicians, educators, administrators and attorneys working with psychiatric patients. This book brings together concise, comprehensive summaries of the most important "landmark" legal decisions relating to mental health practice in the United States. These decisions, along with their underlying reasonings, make up a critical portion of the national certification examination for forensic psychiatry offered by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). Many of the themes are also tested in the ABPN certification examination for general psychiatry.This first edition of this book was the first to provide a combination of summaries of the relevant legal content paired with board-style test questions designed to help consolidate knowledge and prepare for certification. Cases with similar themes are grouped together with an eye toward helping the reader understand the evolution of legal and clinical thinking on a particular topic. In this new edition, the authors have updated all cases, and added chapters on new areas of the law with which forensic practitioners and trainess may interface. This book represents an important addition to the study tools and textbooks available related to psychiatry and the law and will serve as a useful reference for clinicians who must follow established legal requirements in their field.

This issue provides an in-depth look at some of the hot-button topics in law and psychiatry. Forensic Psychiatry is growing as a specialty area of interest, but this issue will be of interest not only to Forensic Psychiatrists, but all practicing psychiatrists, with topics ranging from malpractice claims to correctional psychiatry, psychopathology, suicide risk assessments, and school violence, just to name a few.