PSYCHIATRY ARTICLES PAGE 2

12/3/2014· Psychiatry

Direct Examination And Cross Examination of The Expert Witness: Psychiatrists And Psychologists

By: Dr. Stephen M. Raffle

In order for a medical opinion to be admissible as evidence in civil, criminal and administrative cases, the basis of the opinion must fulfill either the Daubert Criteria or the Frye test, depending on the jurisdiction. The judge of the court rules on the admissibility of the expert opinion. The effect of Daubert has been to limit expert testimony to opinions which are based on a scientific foundation. Daubert specifies that adequate scientific support and method and a known error rate must exist. The testimony of a mental health expert rendering an opinion using criteria which does not meet Daubert standards is weakened by the implication that it is not based on "sound science." In some instances, for example, a mental health expert uses an approach where there are no peer-reviewed studies or methods, such as when psychologists compose their own neuropsychological test batteries. In most cases where an attorney is considering a "Daubert challenge," a contemporaneous and up-to-date literature search is indicated. Also, extensive case law presently exists as to specific issues. Being familiar with the Daubert criteria enhances effectiveness in challenging a mental health expert's opinion, whether on voir dire or cross examination. On direct examination, the strengths of an opinion reached under Daubert criteria become a "teaching moment" for the trier of fact, because it will be founded on the science of mental health assessment.

10/27/2014· Psychiatry

Undue Influence in the Making of a Bequest: A Forensic Psychiatrist Examines The Evidence

By: Dr. Stephen M. Raffle

Undue influence occurs when the testator's freewill and freedom of choice in the disposition of the assets of his or her estate is replaced by the substituted judgment/wishes of another. This can apply to creating a will, codicil to amend a will, trust or other legal instrument.

2/11/2014· Psychiatry

Assessing Emotional Distress

By: Dr. Stephen M. Raffle

The medical expert cannot express an opinion about the ultimate question to the trier of fact: how much is the plaintiff's emotional distress (emotional injury) worth in dollars? Yet when the question of these monetary damages is put to a jury, their deliberations are better-served if considered in the context of a Forensic Psychiatrist's knowledgeable findings and testimony.

9/19/2013· Psychiatry

Peritraumatic Reactions and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Psychiatrically Impaired Youth

By: Dr. Jeffrey Sugar

We examine the consumer-welfare implications of Google's project to scan a large proportion of the world's books into digital form and to make these works accessible to consumers through Google Book Search (GBS). In response to a class action alleging copyright infringement, Google has agreed to a settlement with the plaintiffs, which include the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers.

4/17/2013· Psychiatry

What is Preventive Psychiatry?

By: Dr. Gilbert Kliman

Preventive psychiatry is a branch of preventive or public health medicine. It aims to promote good mental health in individuals and to prevent the occurrence or reduce the incidence of psychiatric disease in a population.

3/8/2012· Psychiatry

Facilitation of Mourning During Childhood

By: Dr. Gilbert Kliman

Here you will meet several children helped by Cornerstone who suffered from tragic losses and tragic circumstances. This chapter is essentially practical in its orientation to technique, describing several forms of treatment of bereaved children, with a minimum of theoretical essay. Probably the best definition of "mourning" for our current purposes is, "the totality of reaction to the loss of a loved object."

11/19/2011· Psychiatry

The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child: The Cornerstone Treatment of a Preschool Boy from an Extremely Impoverished Environment

By: Dr. Gilbert Kliman

Monroe was the kind of child from whom usually little is expected therapeutically. A member of a disadvantaged ethnic minority, he lived in the poverty of a big-city slum ghetto...

9/27/2011· Psychiatry

How Child Psychiatric Testimony Works

By: Dr. Gilbert Kliman

The legal system and juries customarily weigh evidence more regularly than the psychoanalytic profession.

2/15/2011· Psychiatry

Testifying in Contested Custody Litigation

By: Anasseril E. Daniel

Testifying in court or at deposition is a challenging and at times, disconcerting experience even for the seasoned expert.

5/28/2009· Human Factors

How to Read a Psychiatric Report

By: Dr. Stephen M. Raffle

All psychiatric reports evaluate something, but not always the same thing. For example, eligibility for benefits, or fitness to do a job. To make sense of the report, the reader must determine what is being evaluated and how it is being done