Psychiatrists are feeling the chilling effects of increased malpractice liability. Today's changing health care marketplace-exacerbated by the escalating conflict between patient advocacy and cost-cutting policies inherent in managed care-leaves psychiatrists more vulnerable to lawsuits while also undermining their relationships with their patients. This third edition of the "Concise Guide to Psychiatry and Law for Clinicians" equips psychiatrists, psychiatric residents, and other mental health care professionals with a thorough overview of the clinical management of legal issues in psychiatry. Its author, a recognized forensic educator and practicing psychiatrist, encourages psychiatrists to transform the law from adversary to working partner-a partnership that can be turned to clinical account for the benefit of patients. Beginning with an overview of clinical psychiatry and the law, this pocket guide covers every essential aspect of how law affects the practice of psychiatry today: the doctor-patient relationship, confidentiality and testimonial privilege, informed consent and the right to refuse treatment, psychiatric treatment, seclusion and restraint, involuntary hospitalization, the suicidal patient, the potentially violent patient, and therapist-patient sex. Clinicians will find this wealth of knowledge immediately practical and reassuring, psychiatric residents will find it invaluable as preparation for the real world, and lawyers will appreciate its in-depth treatment of complex psychiatric issues. With its glossary of legal terms, case studies, and detailed charts, this clear, authoritative guide reminds us afresh why it deserves its place among the top legalreferences for mental health professionals.

In their latest collaboration, Clinical Manual of Psychiatry and Law, noted forensic psychiatrist Dr. Robert Simon and legal scholar Daniel Shuman, both recipients of the Guttmacher Award, have created a unique, practical reference to enable psychiatrists to transform the impact of the law on their clinical practices from an adversary to a working partner. In lieu of scare tactics or horror stories, Dr. Simon and Professor Shuman clearly explain not only what the law requires and why but how best to integrate its requirements to enhance clinical practice and reduce the risk of successful tort claims. They have written a clear, comprehensible, and accessible volume that will guide practitioners through the thickets of the law and benefit their clinical practices. This volume covers a wide range of topics, from confidentiality, privilege, informed consent and the right to refuse treatment to treatment boundaries, involuntary hospitalization, seclusion and restraint, management of violent as well as suicidal patients, and the additional requirements which apply to the treatment and evaluation of minors or persons with mental disabilities. It also includes the tort (i.e., negligence, intentional harm) claims that arise from a breach of the law's expectations. The content reflects the latest legal precedents concerning such topics as: Establishment of the doctor-patient relationship and liability for damages caused by its breach, including new rulings governing confidentiality and testimonial privileges Case law regarding informed consent -- especially the issue of competency when dealing with minors or persons with mental disabilities New rules and regulations restricting the use of seclusion and restraint Guides to the most recent laws regarding involuntary hospitalization and emergency commitment Insights into recent state court decisions concerning disclosures by therapists of threats of harm by patients against others, including such issues as conflicts between the duty to maintain confidentiality and the duty to protect Reviews of recent legislation proscribing sexual misconduct or prosecuting sexual exploitation of patients under existing rape or sexual assault laws Clinicians will find this wealth of knowledge immediately practical and lawyers will appreciate its in-depth treatment of complex psychiatric issues. With extensive references and a glossary of legal terms, Clinical Manual of Psychiatry and Law deserves a place among the top legal references for mental health professionals.

Updates to this edition: * Clinical and legal issues in the use of clozapine in treatment of schizophrenia* Clinical information and new cases involving tardive dyskinesia* Changes in civil and criminal law regarding right to refuse treatment* An update of clinical guidelines and legal regulations of ECT* An update on suicide risk assessment and new legal cases involving suicide* An update on violence risk assessment and new legal cases involving the duty to protect endangered third parties* New statutes and criminal sanctions regarding sexual misconduct * New statutes limiting the liability of therapists toward third parties who are injured or killed by patients* Changes in the relationship between psychiatrists and nonmedical therapists* Regulatory developments regarding physician impairment* Numerous tables and an updated glossary of legal terms* New section on common terms and abbreviations in legal citations

What are the facts about psychiatric malpractice? Is it increasing? If so, how rapidly? What areas of psychiatric practice pose higher risks of legal liability? The anxieties and uncertainties created by the increased threat of being sued for malpractice can interfere with the psychiatrist's provision of good clinical care. Through a general overview -- as well as a discussion of specific legal cases -- this volume presents the major malpractice traps encountered in everyday psychiatric practice.

Once upon a time only forensic psychiatrists had much to do with law and the legal system. Now, hardly a day passes in the life of a clinician without some significant encounter with the interface between the law and the practice of psychiatry. That interface extends all the way from the general regulation of clinical practice to the specifics of clinical man agement of individual patients. It includes, like the chapters of this book, such important topics as informed consent, right to treatment, privilege and confidentiality, patients' rights, competency, psychiatric testimony, malpractice, and liability. Dr. Halleck is one of the professions' most distinguished thinkers and authors in the field of psychiatry and law, and is this year's recipient of the coveted Isaac Ray Award of the American Psychiatric Association. Having spent his entire academic and professional life deeply involved in the clinical practice of psychiatry, he is particularly well suited to understand and respond to the clinician's need for a clear and concise elucidation of those areas of psychiatry and law which are involved in the daily work of psychiatrists and all mental health professionals.