Principles and Practice of Forensic Psychiatry
http://www.100md.com
《新英格兰医药杂志》
What started off as a project under the auspices of the Tri-State Chapter of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, in the mid-1970s, has blossomed into Principles and Practice of Forensic Psychiatry. Now in its second edition, and still under the editorial guidance of Richard Rosner, this book continues to be the standard reference textbook in the field.
Over the years, the scope of forensic psychiatry has widened, and a major strength of this book is that it succinctly covers the major subspecialties of forensic practice, including civil law, family and domestic relations, correctional psychiatry, and the evaluation and treatment of criminals. Such varied topics as malingering, psychiatric abuse, and head injury are clustered in 26 chapters in a section entitled "Special Clinical Issues in Forensic Psychiatry."
A particular strength is the detailed examination of ethical guidelines, liability issues, confidentiality, the duty to protect, and sexual misconduct in therapist–patient relationships. Despite the large number of contributors, the writing is consistently good.
This book is not just theoretical but, rather, is interspersed with many practical gems. Chapters on writing forensic reports, preparing courtroom testimony, addressing violations of treatment boundaries, and doing legal research online are some of the many examples of its practical applications.
My criticisms are minor. If the book is read through Canadian eyes, its focus is American, not North American. Although interesting, all the landmark cases cited are from U.S. courts. A brief examination of important Canadian and British cases (other than the historic M'Naghten case, involving political assassination during the reign of Queen Victoria) would have rounded out this book. However, it still remains valuable to forensic practitioners outside the United States.
Another criticism is that despite the introductory statement that every chapter in this second edition is "an updated, revised and expanded version of what appeared in the original edition," the chapter entitled "Terrorism and Forensic Psychiatry" is essentially unchanged. This is disappointing, because there have been many open source articles on the psychology of terrorism since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The authors repeat their preachy message about forensic psychiatrists in law enforcement while failing to recognize that many practitioners who are employed in operational policing and in the fields of counterterrorism and intelligence are not gun-loving "wannabes" and can continue to follow the oath of Hippocrates.
These minor criticisms aside, this book remains the gold standard and is an important reference work in forensic psychiatry. It is well written and well presented and is a must both for experienced forensic psychiatrists and psychologists and for those in training; it is also invaluable for forensic social workers, forensic nurses, lawyers, and the judiciary.
Peter I. Collins, M.D.
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
peter.collins@jus.gov.on.ca(Second edition. Edited by)
Over the years, the scope of forensic psychiatry has widened, and a major strength of this book is that it succinctly covers the major subspecialties of forensic practice, including civil law, family and domestic relations, correctional psychiatry, and the evaluation and treatment of criminals. Such varied topics as malingering, psychiatric abuse, and head injury are clustered in 26 chapters in a section entitled "Special Clinical Issues in Forensic Psychiatry."
A particular strength is the detailed examination of ethical guidelines, liability issues, confidentiality, the duty to protect, and sexual misconduct in therapist–patient relationships. Despite the large number of contributors, the writing is consistently good.
This book is not just theoretical but, rather, is interspersed with many practical gems. Chapters on writing forensic reports, preparing courtroom testimony, addressing violations of treatment boundaries, and doing legal research online are some of the many examples of its practical applications.
My criticisms are minor. If the book is read through Canadian eyes, its focus is American, not North American. Although interesting, all the landmark cases cited are from U.S. courts. A brief examination of important Canadian and British cases (other than the historic M'Naghten case, involving political assassination during the reign of Queen Victoria) would have rounded out this book. However, it still remains valuable to forensic practitioners outside the United States.
Another criticism is that despite the introductory statement that every chapter in this second edition is "an updated, revised and expanded version of what appeared in the original edition," the chapter entitled "Terrorism and Forensic Psychiatry" is essentially unchanged. This is disappointing, because there have been many open source articles on the psychology of terrorism since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The authors repeat their preachy message about forensic psychiatrists in law enforcement while failing to recognize that many practitioners who are employed in operational policing and in the fields of counterterrorism and intelligence are not gun-loving "wannabes" and can continue to follow the oath of Hippocrates.
These minor criticisms aside, this book remains the gold standard and is an important reference work in forensic psychiatry. It is well written and well presented and is a must both for experienced forensic psychiatrists and psychologists and for those in training; it is also invaluable for forensic social workers, forensic nurses, lawyers, and the judiciary.
Peter I. Collins, M.D.
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
peter.collins@jus.gov.on.ca(Second edition. Edited by)