Psychiatry Law And Ethics

In the video above, listen to the author, Dr. Roberts, discuss with Chief of Staff John M. Oldham the challenges that medical residents face in managing their own mental health and wellbeing. Professional ethics and decision making have become areas of heightened critical inquiry, as well as matters of normal but challenging psychiatric practice. Informed by the extensive clinical experience of the author and guest contributors, A Clinical Guide to Psychiatric Ethics approaches the ethical aspects of mental health care -- both subtle and dramatic -- with clarity, coherence, and optimism. This engaging text functions as both a review and a guide to issues on the horizon, as well as those encountered every day. The Guide achieves these objectives by employing several strategic features: Structured logically into three parts (Fundamentals, Caring for Special Populations, and Evolving Topics), the book takes the reader from the general to the specific and from the traditional to the emergent. Case scenarios at the end of each chapter not only focus the individual reader on the chapter's concepts and issues, but also may be used in independent study or small-group discussions. The text emphasizes real experience over remote theories, attuning readers to clinical realities with keen sensitivity. It does not offer simple answers, but provides guideposts to impart information, foster skill development, and encourage openness, collaboration, and self-reflection among both veteran clinicians and trainees. Significant focus is given to the care of individuals from distinct populations (e.g., children and veterans) and care occurring in unique contexts (e.g., small communities), underscoring the book's broad usefulness. The material is thoroughly current, aided by useful lists, tables, and figures to enhance its accessibility. A Clinical Guide to Psychiatric Ethics provides a trustworthy compass and expert companion for those traveling with their patients along the ethical frontier of mental illness.

This book examines core issues related to legal insanity, integrating perspectives from psychiatry, law, and ethics. Various criteria for insanity are analyzed and recommendations for forensic psychiatric and legal practice are offered. Many legal systems have an insanity defense, in one form or another. Still, it remains unclear exactly when and why mental disorders affect a person’s moral or criminal responsibility. Questions addressed in this book include: Why should insanity be a component of our legal system? What should be the criteria for an insanity defense? What would be the reasons for abolishing it? Who should bear the burden of proof? Furthermore, the book discusses the impact neurosciences may have on psychiatric and psychological evaluations of defendants as well as on legal decisions about insanity.

The recognition of positive rights and the growing impact of human rights principles has recently orchestrated a number of reforms in mental health law, bringing increasing entitlement to an array of health services. In this book, Penelope Weller considers the relationship between human rights and mental health law, and the changing attitudes which have led to the recognition of a right to demand treatment internationally. Weller discusses the ability of those with mental health problems to use advance directives to make a choice about what treatment they receive in the future, should they still be unable to decide for themselves. Focusing on new perspectives offered by the Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Weller explores mental health law from a variety of international perspectives including: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, where policies differ depending on whether you are in England and Wales, or Scotland. These case studies indicate how human rights perspectives are shifting mental health law from a constricted focus upon treatment refusal, towards a recognition of positive rights. The book covers topics including: refusing treatment new approaches in human rights international perspectives in mental health law the right to demand treatment. The text will appeal to legal and mental health professionals as well as academics studying mental health law, and policy makers.

We would expect a successful series such as Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law to present timely, relevant issues in a high-quality manner, and such is the hallmark of this outstanding series. But we might not expect the editors to dive into the especially controversial issues, e.g., ethics, and I applaud them for doing so and in such a comprehensive and thorough fashion. Public and professional concern about ethical aspects of psychiatrists' be havior and practice is growing, and exponentially. Concern about the ethical practice of modern forensic psychiatry is paralleled by deep-seated apprehen sion not only about the ethical dilemmas of psychiatry and medicine (e.g., societal versus individual patient values, the corporatization of medicine, access to versus cost of medicine) but also about the widely publicized ethical trans gressions of religious and political leaders. That's why this volume is so timely and important. Ethics-the principles and rules of right conduct. Sounds simple. We know it is not. When I'm asked by colleagues to consider the perceived unethical behavior of a fellow professional, I often find that, like obscenity, they can't always define it but they are definite that they know it when they see it. The perception of ethical conduct often appears to be in the eyes of the beholder. read this volume. It may not always please you, Well, that's why you will want to it may upset you and even offend you, but it will definitely inform you.

The prostitution of the German psychiatric profession into a Nazi inquisitional tool was a major factor producing the total degradation of German medicine and moral ity. Its low point was its psychiatrists killing the patients they were sworn to care for, and its other physicians performing inhuman experiments on patients they were pledged to treat. In America also, psychiatry has been performing some of the functions of an In quisition: injuring innocents, both patients and dissenters, and exculpating crimi nals, terrorists especially. Innocents are being injured both in and out of psychiatric hospitals. The in creased fragmentation of care, the augmentation of its discontinuities, and assign ing the responsibility for organizing it to non-medical managers are some of the fac tors worsening the treatment results of our hospitals. Wrongful deaths, due largely to the specialty's intoxication with drugs while ignoring the importance of common human decency, have become a national scandal.

Highly Commended, BMA Medical Book Awards 2014Comprehensive and erudite, Forensic Psychiatry: Clinical, Legal and Ethical Issues, Second Edition is a practical guide to the psychiatry of offenders, victims, and survivors of crime. This landmark publication has been completely updated but retains all the features that made the first edition such a w

In their latest collaboration, Clinical Manual of Psychiatry and Law, noted forensic psychiatrist Dr. Robert Simon and legal scholar Daniel Shuman, both recipients of the Guttmacher Award, have created a unique, practical reference to enable psychiatrists to transform the impact of the law on their clinical practices from an adversary to a working partner. In lieu of scare tactics or horror stories, Dr. Simon and Professor Shuman clearly explain not only what the law requires and why but how best to integrate its requirements to enhance clinical practice and reduce the risk of successful tort claims. They have written a clear, comprehensible, and accessible volume that will guide practitioners through the thickets of the law and benefit their clinical practices. This volume covers a wide range of topics, from confidentiality, privilege, informed consent and the right to refuse treatment to treatment boundaries, involuntary hospitalization, seclusion and restraint, management of violent as well as suicidal patients, and the additional requirements which apply to the treatment and evaluation of minors or persons with mental disabilities. It also includes the tort (i.e., negligence, intentional harm) claims that arise from a breach of the law's expectations. The content reflects the latest legal precedents concerning such topics as: Establishment of the doctor-patient relationship and liability for damages caused by its breach, including new rulings governing confidentiality and testimonial privileges Case law regarding informed consent -- especially the issue of competency when dealing with minors or persons with mental disabilities New rules and regulations restricting the use of seclusion and restraint Guides to the most recent laws regarding involuntary hospitalization and emergency commitment Insights into recent state court decisions concerning disclosures by therapists of threats of harm by patients against others, including such issues as conflicts between the duty to maintain confidentiality and the duty to protect Reviews of recent legislation proscribing sexual misconduct or prosecuting sexual exploitation of patients under existing rape or sexual assault laws Clinicians will find this wealth of knowledge immediately practical and lawyers will appreciate its in-depth treatment of complex psychiatric issues. With extensive references and a glossary of legal terms, Clinical Manual of Psychiatry and Law deserves a place among the top legal references for mental health professionals.

Ethics of Psychiatry addresses the key ethical and legal issues in mental health care. With selections by Paul S. Applebaum, Christopher Boorse, Kerry Brace, Peter R. Breggin, Paula J. Caplan, Glen O. Gabbard, Donald H.J. Hermann, Lawrie Reznek, Thomas Szasz, Jerome Wakefield, Bruce J. Winick, and Robert M. Veatch, among others, this sourcebook offers the latest research in psychiatry, psychology, advocacy, mental health law, social services, and medical ethics relevant to the rational autonomy of psychiatric patients.

This book is specifically designed for new psychiatrists and all other medical professionals who lack the training necessary to confront the complicated legal and ethical issues that arise at the intersection of the mental health and judicial systems. Written by experts in the field, each chapter begins with a challenging case vignette synthesized from a historical legal case that places the reader in the role of the treatment provider. The text presents details of the legal case, historical significance, and the precedent it set before discussing the core principles of that particular subject area. Each chapter reviews the existing literature and reinforces the most salient points. Topics include risk assessment, substance misuse and the law, legal issues within child and adolescent psychiatry, involuntary medication considerations, and other challenges that are often not sufficiently addressed in training. The text is specifically designed for new psychiatrists and other professionals who are transitioning from their studies into clinical practice, concisely explaining and defining the issues in a practical, reader-friendly tone suitable as both a quick-reference in a busy environment or as a resource for private study. Psychiatry and the Law: Basic Principles is an excellent resource for new psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, students, and other professionals accommodating medical and legal boundaries in clinical practice.