<p>As President of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), it is a pleasure to write this foreword. Dr. Richard Rosner deserves full credit for helping AAPL pursue its educational goals by publishing a series of books. Consumerism and the civil rights movement have dramatically changed the practice of American psychiatry over the last 2 decades. Extensive legal regulation now makes it necessary for both general and forensic psychiatrists to keep abreast of changing laws. The contents of Volume II of Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law demonstrate Dr. Rosner's gift for selecting and editing important theoretical and practical articles. This volume addresses a broad range of forensic issues. The pen dulum-like swings of laws regarding civil commitment and insanity are clearly illuminated by Dr. Quen's contribution, "Violence, Psychiatry, and the Law." A review of historical psychiatric testimony supporting insanity defenses on the bases of homicidal mania, moral insanity, and phrenological evidence should make modern forensic psychiatrists hum ble. However, some of our colleagues continue to testify that defendants were unable to refrain from criminal conduct because of CT evidence of schizophrenia, pathological gambling, or the effects of junk food. Excellent theoretical discussions are presented by Dr. Macklin ("A Philosophical Perspective on Ethics and Forensic Psychiatry") and Mr. Hughes ("Legal Aspects of Predicting Dangerousness"). These chapters present thorough, up-to-date, scholarly analyses of complex issues from the vantage point of non psychiatrists.</p>

Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law

Richard Rosner

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Charles C. Thomas, Publisher

<p>I am not sure when a series of volumes becomes an "institution"; this is the fourth annual volume of Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law, and each has been an extraordinary summary of important forensic topics. This book makes the point that the interface of psychiatry and law is not merely a legal one, but has a great deal to do with clinical issues such as diagnosis and treatment. Children and adolescents are not adults. This may come as something of a shock to those who proselytize for equal rights for children, and to those adults (including some psychiatrists, attorneys, and judges) who advocate giving the child adult choices and/or responsibilities. Children differ from adults in many ways. The specialist in child or adoles cent psychiatry knows not only that one must attend to special social and family issues for juveniles, but that juveniles are more complex internally as well. They attempt to survive in the world while rapidly growing and learning, usually with physically and emotionally immature resources. They have had few years in which to develop experience, and do not have the psyche with which to integrate that experience in ways one would expect of a mature adult. Sometimes this frightens the patient, as in the case of a physically large teen ager whose impulse control is impaired. Sometimes it is frustrating, as in the case of a healthy child unable to escape from a dysfunctioning family. It is always confusing, and usually uncomfortable.</p>

Juvenile Psychiatry and the Law (Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law)

Psychology & Counseling

Plenum Publishing Corporation

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Books by Richard Rosner

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Richard Rosner. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law

Juvenile Psychiatry and the Law (Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law)