Standards of practice and care in forensic mental health assessment

Legal, professional, and principles-based consideration

Bibliographic Data

ID12434902
AuthorsKirk Heilbrun (0000-0002-6032-0984, Drexel University, corresponding author), David Dematteo (0000-0002-0266-5749, Drexel University), Geff Marczyk (Widener University), Alan M Goldstein (City University of New York)
Year2008
Volume14
Issue1
Pages1-26
Publication date2008-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychology Public Policy and Law (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1076-8971 • E-ISSN: 1939-1528
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/1076-8971.14.1.1
OpenAlexW2052703640
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited9

The specialization of forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) has incorporated important advances during the last two decades. As scientific advances, specialized tools, and relevant ethical guidelines have become core elements of FMHA, however, the question of how to regulate poor practice has assumed increasing importance. One such means of regulation that has been rarely applied to FMHA thus far is malpractice litigation using a clearly defined standard of care. This article focuses on the relationship between standard of practice and standard of care in FMHA. The authors discuss the current absence of a standard of care in FMHA, describing the historical, regulatory, and legal influences that have helped to shape the current state of practice in this specialty area and their relevance to operationalizing a standard of care. The authors address the various sources of authority that the law might consider in defining a standard of care and specify circumstances under which legal regulation using a standard of care would be more useful than would ethical/ professional regulation using a standard of practice. Finally, the authors describe the advantages of developing a clearer standard of practice in FMHA, which can then inform the operationalization of a standard of care

Engineering ethics · Forensic science · Mental health · Professional standards · Psychiatry · Counseling Practices and Supervision · Engineering · Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints · Medicine · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending

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