This is a no-nonsense guide to how mental health practitioners can lower the legal risks and avoid the common pitfalls of contemporary practice. Written specifically for nonphysician practitioners, this book explains common forensic issues and standards as they apply to mental health professionals, and it helps clarify risk-benefit questions involved in mental health care delivery.
William H. Reid, MD, MPH, is one of America's leading forensic psychiatrists. His professional career includes professorships at several medical schools and serving as medical director of one of the nation's largest state mental health and developmental disability systems. He was president of North America's premiere forensic psychiatry organization (the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law), has published some 16 books and over 200 professional articles, been an expert witness or consultant in hundreds of criminal and civil cases (for prosecution/plaintiff, defense, or as a judge's expert) at the interface of mental health and the law, and treated thousands of psychiatric patients.
He lives, practices and writes in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, where he enjoys family & friends, plays mediocre tennis, and performs acoustic blues with the best musicians he can find who will tolerate him.