Sections
Forensic Addiction Psychiatry: Introduction | Forensic Psychiatry: Process | Forensic Psychiatric Content: Areas of Forensic Addiction Expertise | Mandated Treatment:
The "In Between" | Liability for the Forensic Expert | Conclusion | Key Points | References | Suggested Reading
Excerpt
There is an increasing probability that the
addiction clinician will, willingly or not, come into contact with
legal issues in the course of practice. This reflects many trends,
including the widespread use of substances of abuse, increases in
the prison population, increase in litigation, and professional
interest in forensic psychiatry. After all, violence, suicide, interpersonal
conflicts, lawsuits, psychiatric commitment, and even crimes (and
sentences) are often a part of the lives of those who misuse substances.
Traditionally, such involvement has been divided into the realm
of either the expert forensic consultant or the clinician. With
the growth of systems for mandated treatment as "diversion" from
judicial interventions (e.g., drug courts; see Chapter 33 in this
volume, "Community-Based Treatment"), this dichotomy
has been blurred further, and many more addiction psychiatrists may
be formally engaged in forensic psychiatry. At a minimum, such work
requires solid clinical skills, but it also requires an adequate
familiarity with one's role in the legal system.