Study Guide to Forensic Psychiatry

Robert I. Simon, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Program in Psychiatry and Law in the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He is also Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Suburban Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine, in Bethesda, Maryland. Robert E. Hales, M.D., M.B.A., is Joe P. Tupin Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California--Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento, California; Medical Director, Sacramento County Mental Health Services in Sacramento, California; and Editor-in-Chief, American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.

Preface. Questions. Rediscovering forensic psychiatry. Introduction to the legal system. Starting a forensic practice. The expert witness. Ethics in forensic psychiatry. Psychiatric diagnosis in litigation. The forensic psychiatric examination and report. Professional liability in psychiatric practice and requisite standard of care. Competencies in civil law. Personal injury litigation and forensic psychiatric assessment. Disability. The workplace. Competency to stand trial and the insanity defense. Forensic assessment of sex offenders. Correctional psychiatry. Forensic psychiatry and law enforcement. Malingering. Children and adolescents. Personal violence. Understanding risk assessment instruments. Forensic psychiatry and the internet. Psychological testing in forensic psychiatry. Answer Guide.