Forensic psychiatry

Abstract

Forensic psychiatry exists within the ever-changing social and conceptual space where issues of law and mental state meet. Though generally associated with issues such as the insanity defence, fitness to stand trial, and the like, forensic psychiatry includes within its ambit many aspects of everyday clinical practice—issues such as risk prediction, antisocial personality disorder, decisional capacity, and identifying and resolving ethical conflicts. Rather than focusing on topics of little practical interest to the general clinician, articles for this chapter were chosen to address these everyday issues.