risk assessment in forensic mental health

AWhy did the defendant do it?A Mental health professionals are asked to help courts answer this question. To serve justice, the law calls for evidence of the mental state at the time a crime is committed, of suicide intent in civil litigation, and of mental capacity in contract litigation. The law asks psychiatrists and psychologists to retrospectively determine mental statesAa daunting task made even more difficult by the passage of time, the uncertain credibility of witnesses, the paucity of collateral sources of information, and often the death of the person in question. This is the first book dedicated entirely to the retrospective assessment of mental states. This fascinating book explores the role of the psychiatrist and psychologist, as an expert witness in litigation, in rendering a retrospective judgment of an individualAs mental state. Distinguished contributors apply their expertise in psychiatry, psychology, and the law to address the problems of retrospective assessment. With the goal of developing guidelines for more accurate retrospective assessment of mental states, they present topics such as -Guidelines for conducting retrospective assessments in children and adults -Guidelines for the retrospective assessment without benefit of direct examination -Assessments of suicide cases in both civil and criminal litigation -Psychological testing and interviewing techniques that may assist in retrospective assessment -Methods and analysis to help clinicians and attorneys critically evaluate the search for AtruthA about the past. This remarkable book will prove indispensable for helping clinicians, lawyers, and judges better understand the complex and difficult process of retrospective reconstruction of mental states.

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Treating Violence deals with the problem of violence by mental health patients. Over the last twenty years violence by the mentally ill has grown from just a peripheral concern to dominate debate about services. Scientific studies have established beyond reasonable doubt that mental disorders lead to violence in a minority of sufferers, whilst a series of homicide inquiries brought the media spotlight to bear on the real and imagined failings of mental health services. Consequently, health services have had violence risk assessment thrust upon them by worried managers and politicians. Clinicians were bewildered by the growing number of risk scales and they felt vulnerable to criticism when things went wrong. This book provides a way out of the confusion. It summarises the evidence, critically reviews risk assessment methods, and presents a strong case for improving management through structured clinical assessment. In this provocative and controversial account, standardised risk assessment is discussed in a critical, non-technical way, with a reminder that nobody can predict the future. There is advice for the clinician on when and how to use standardised assessment, along with a strong defence of clinical methods. Topics include: research on violence, mental health, and risk prediction; the ethics of violence risk assessment; homicide inquiries in the UK, with the results of a new study reviewing their findings; a discussion of professional attitudes towards violence risk; a description of risk assessment tools and recommendations for their use; and a strong defence of structured clinical assessment as the best way of managing risk. This is a book that should be read by anybody working in front line mental health services or criminal justice. It will also be of interest to those who have read the headlines about mental illness and violence and want to know more about the facts and the controversies that lie behind them.
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