Principles and Practice of Child and Adolescent Forensic Mental Health

by Elissa P. Benedek (Editor), Peter Ash (Editor), Charles L. Scott (Editor)

Overview

When care of younger patients raises thorny legal questions, you need answers you can trust: that's why this book belongs on every clinician's reference shelf. Principles and Practice of Child and Adolescent Forensic Mental Health is a timely and authoritative source that covers issues ranging from child custody to litigation concerns as it walks clinicians through the often-confusing field of depositions and courtroom testimony.

The book expands on the 2002 volume Principles and Practice of Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry winner of the 2003 Manfred S. Guttmacher Award, to meet pressing twenty-first-century concerns, from telepsychiatry to the Internet, while continuing to cover basic issues, such as forensic evaluation, psychological screening, and the interviewing of children for suspected sexual abuse, that are important to both new and experienced practitioners. Many of its chapters have been entirely rewritten by new authors to provide fresh insight into such topics as child custody; juvenile law; abuse, neglect, and permanent wardship cases; transcultural, transracial, and gay/lesbian parenting and adoption; and the reliability and suggestibility of children's statements. It also includes significant material not found in the previous volume: • Two chapters on special education offer an introduction to screening instruments and help practitioners determine a child's potential need for special education programs and services.• A chapter on cultural competence helps readers improve the accuracy and responsiveness of forensic evaluations and minimize the chance of an unjust outcome resulting from misguided expert opinion.• The section on youth violence features three new chapters -- Taxonomy and Neurobiology of Aggression, Prevention of School Violence, and Juvenile Stalkers -- plus a newly written chapter on assessment of violence risk, offering guidance on how to confront problems such as bullying and initiate effective family interventions.• A chapter on psychiatric malpractice and professional liability addresses these legal concerns with an eye toward cases involving minors.• A chapter on psychological autopsy covers evaluation of the circumstances surrounding pediatric suicides, describing various types of equivocal deaths and discussing legal issues such as admissibility of the autopsy in court.• A newly written chapter on the Internet expands the previous book's focus on child pornography to help practitioners deal with issues ranging from online threats to emotional and legal consequences of interactions in cyberspace.

This is a valuable reference not only for practitioners in psychiatry and the mental health field but also for attorneys and judges. It opens up a field that may be too often avoided and helps professionals make their way through legal thickets with confidence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585629015
Publisher:	American Psychiatric Publishing, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/20/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	531
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Elissa P. Benedek, M.D., is Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor.

Peter Ash, M.D., is Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Director, Psychiatry and Law Service; and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.

Charles L. Scott, M.D., is Chief, Division of Psychiatry and the Law, and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, at the University of California--Davis School of Medicine.

Table of Contents

ContributorsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPART I: BasicsChapter 1. Introduction to the Legal SystemChapter 2. Ethics of Child and Adolescent Forensic PsychiatryChapter 3. Introduction to Forensic EvaluationsChapter 4. Testifying: The Expert Witness in CourtChapter 5. Special Education: Screening Tools, Rating Scales, and Self-Report InstrumentsChapter 6. Psychological Testing in Child and Adolescent Forensic EvaluationsChapter 7. Forensic TelepsychiatryChapter 8. Cultural Competence in Child and Adolescent Forensic Mental HealthPART II: Legal Regulation of PracticeChapter 9. Legal Issues in the Treatment of MinorsChapter 10. Legal Aspects of Intellectual DisabilityPART III: Child CustodyChapter 11. Child Custody EvaluationChapter 12. Parenting Assessment in Abuse, Neglect, and Permanent Wardship CasesChapter 13. Children in Foster CareChapter 14. AdoptionChapter 15. Special Issues in Transcultural, Transracial, and Gay and Lesbian Parenting and AdoptionPART IV: Child AbuseChapter 16. Reliability and Suggestibility of Children's Statements: From Science to PracticeChapter 17. Interviewing Children for Suspected Sexual AbuseChapter 18. Forensic Issues in Munchausen by ProxyChapter 19. Forensic Issues and the InternetPART V: Youth ViolenceChapter 20. Taxonomy and Neurobiology of AggressionChapter 21. Assessing Violence Risk in YouthChapter 22. Prevention of Youth ViolenceChapter 23. Prevention of School ViolenceChapter 24. Juvenile StalkersPART VI: Juvenile OffendersChapter 25. Overview of Juvenile LawChapter 26. Juvenile Waiver and State-of-Mind AssessmentsChapter 27. Assessment and Treatment of Juvenile OffendersChapter 28. Sexually Aggressive YouthPART VII: Civil LitigationChapter 29. Civil Litigation and Psychic TraumaChapter 30. Malpractice and Professional LiabilityChapter 31. Psychological Autopsy in Children and AdolescentsChapter 32. Evaluations for Special EducationChapter 33. Clinical and Forensic Aspects of Sexual Harassment in School-Age Children and AdolescentsIndex

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Louis J. Kraus, MD (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: This comprehensive book on child and adolescent forensic psychiatry is an update of Principles and Practice of Child and Adolescent Forensic Mental Health, Schetky and Benedek (American Psychiatric Publishing, 2002). With many rewritten and new chapters, the book covers a wide range of child and adolescent forensic mental health topics, including the basics of forensic psychiatry, legal regulation of practice, child custody, child abuse, youth violence, juvenile offenders, and civil mental health litigation.
Purpose: It is intended as a resource for both clinicians and forensic experts who deal with children and adolescents, such as psychologists, social workers, psychiatrist, mental health clinicians, attorneys, and judges. The book has been expanded to include new topics such as forensic telepsychiatry, cultural competence, and forensic issues on the Internet, as well as new information on a variety of topics from the previous edition.
Audience: It is a challenge to write a book to meet the needs of such a wide variety of professionals, but the authors are successful. The chapters typically begin with a brief description of the topic, followed by comprehensive explanations. A broad range of annotative references help readers gain a more specific understanding of a topic. This is a very well written book edited by leaders in their field. The contributors include experts with international reputations as well as private practitioners and residents.
Features: Introductory chapters cover key general issues important to child and adolescent forensic psychiatrists, including a general introduction to the legal system, ethical issues, and testifying in court. The major pertinent issues in child and adolescent forensic mental health are covered including treatment issues such as disability, child custody, child abuse, juvenile delinquency, and civil litigation. The sections that provide an overview of juvenile offenders and civil litigation are particularly helpful. Chapters dealing with child custody and child abuse are areas that have been previously reviewed, but each chapter addresses somewhat newer areas. For example, issues of child custody also touch on transcultural, transracial, and gay and lesbian parenting and adoption. In addition to chapters on physical and sexual abuse, there is also a chapter on Munchausen syndrome by proxy, or factitious disorder by proxy, which provides a well rounded understanding of the clinical issue while attempting to explain the lack of a definitive DSM-IV diagnosis. The clinical vignettes in this chapter and others are particularly helpful. In addition to many of the typical areas covered in forensic books, this one also covers special education evaluations, which includes an explanation of special education law and the process of special education assessments and meetings. The format of the chapters varies. Most commonly, they start with either case vignettes or definitions before going into the details of the assessment, pertinent case law, and references. References offered primary and secondary publications and case law, both state and federal.
Assessment: In general, the book does a tremendous job of summarizing the current literature, reviewing pertinent case law, and then applying this to the topics. The editors have tremendous expertise in child and adolescent forensic psychiatry, yet there is very little description of their own personal opinions on key issues, including areas of future growth and understanding, areas needing reform, and a clear understanding of areas of conflict and concern. However, this may be the most comprehensive and up-to-date book on child and adolescent forensic mental health. With the many changes in the juvenile justice system and other areas of child and adolescent forensic mental health, it is certainly worthwhile to replace the first edition.

Doody's Review Service