8/23/2011· Psychiatry
Assessing Emotional Damages in Multi-Plaintiff Litigation
By: Dr. Mark Levy
An hour earlier, a commuter train with 180 passengers struck a sport utility vehicle left on the tracks-an aborted suicide attempt. The parking lot adjacent to the tracks is filled with people dazed and confused.
2/11/2014· Psychiatry
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.
3/11/2015· Psychology
Benefits of Forensic Psychological Evaluations
By: Dr. Ray Kim
Forensic psychological evaluations have become a valuable resource for the criminal justice system by addressing important forensic questions. For instance, assessing risk for violence can help courts make appropriate decisions on issues such as sentencing, granting privileges, and community reintegration. If an individual is assessed to be a high risk for future violence, a judge has grounds to order a more restrictive setting compared to someone who is a lower risk for recidivism. By tailoring court decisions based on accurate psychological evaluations, the community is safer while the defendant's rights are also protected.
7/11/2017· Psychiatry
Civil Litigation and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
An ever-increasing number of plaintiffs are claiming post-traumatic stress disorder. Why such a sudden, marked increase in litigation of this form? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was first described in the sixth century B.C. The symptoms associated with the illness have not changed, though the name of the condition itself has, naturally, changed. In World War I the disorder was labeled "shell shock," linking the condition to the close lines between battling armies and the continuous firing of munitions. In World War II, the condition came to be called "combat neurosis." The term "post-traumatic stress disorder" entered the psychiatric nomenclature with the 1980 publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition.
10/10/2016· Psychiatry
Comparison of Psychiatrists and Psychologists in Clinical Practice
Objective: The authors compared data from psychiatrists and psychologists in California to determine whether long-standing differences in clinical practice remain after the introduction of managed care and other changes in mental service delivery. Methods: Responses from practicing clinicians in California who participated in the 1998 National Survey of Psychiatric Practice and the 2000 California Survey of Psychological Practice were compared on items related to patient caseload, practice profile, and insurance or reimbursement arrangements.
3/25/2010· Forensic Psychiatry
Competency To Make A Will: Testamentary Capacity / Undue Influence
Wills are generally contested either on the grounds that the testator lacked Testamentary Capacity (was incompetent to make a will at the time of signing it) or the testator, because of his/her mental state, was subject to Undue Influence (i.e. if there is evidence of coercion, manipulation, deception, compulsion, intimidation, etc.) or an Undue Influence secondary to a thought disturbance (such as delusions affecting the testator's free will in making decisions).
12/3/2014· Psychiatry
Direct Examination And Cross Examination of The Expert Witness: Psychiatrists And Psychologists
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.
3/8/2012· Psychiatry
Facilitation of Mourning During Childhood
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."
9/27/2011· Psychiatry
How Child Psychiatric Testimony Works
The legal system and juries customarily weigh evidence more regularly than the psychoanalytic profession.
5/28/2009· Human Factors
How to Read a Psychiatric Report
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
by Aaron T. Olson, et al
by Chuck Easttom
by Michael Phillips
