Role Of Forensic Psychiatry

Forensic Psychiatry has to do with assessing and treating of mentally disordered people who have violated the law. This is a profession which must balance between law and mental disorders/illnesses. Forensic Psychiatrists must have an adept understanding of the legal system as they will be working closely with it. They work closely with the legal system, as Forensic Psychiatrists can provide expert testimony in a court trial, determine and advise on the competency of an individual’s ability to stand trial, aid in solving criminal cases, provide sentencing recommendation, and treat mental disorders or illness in individuals who have taken part in criminal actions. There patients are almost always in some way legally restricted, often seeing

Forensic Psychiatrists also are often essential to helping design and run treatment centers and specialized programmes, as well as give expert and thorough advice to other professionals in the health or social care fields. Since there is regular interaction between the legal courts and justice system for Forensic Psychiatrists they need to have the proper knowledge of laws that are relevant. They need a thorough and clear understanding of civil, criminal, and case law. One of the most important tasks in the Forensic Psychiatry profession is determining the risk of danger to other people that an individual may cause as well as the risk of danger that individual may have on themself. Another key job for a Forensic Psychiatrist is to have no bias, they must only look at the facts and base their findings on those facts. If there findings are seen as helpful to a lawyer, then a Forensic Psychiatrist will be asked to testify in court. In conclusion, Forensic Psychiatrists and their profession entails court work, consultation, and specialities such as determining the risk of harm or danger to people and assessing the mental state of individuals that have committed

In order to become a Forensic Psychiatrists it will generally take around thirteen years after you graduate high school. You need to complete four years of pre-medical college courses, then continue on into medical school. You will spend another four years in medical school, then you will have to join a Psychiatry residency which will generally take an additional four years. After you complete your Psychiatry residency, you will then move on to a Psychiatry fellowship which would take about an additional one to two years to complete. Then there are multiple certifications and licenses that will be needed. You will need to receive a state medical license which is required to practice medicine, then a board certification, as well as a continuing medical education to renew your accreditation and licenses. The different between Forensic Psychiatrists and Forensic Psychologists is that Forensic Psychiatrists aid in determining and associating a prisoner’s symptoms that are in relation to their mental disorders or illnesses; these findings are then used in legal proceedings. While, Forensic Psychologists utilizes their services much differently. They have to determine if the individual suffered from a mental disorder or illness, and this happened prior to the trial rather than during the trial. A trait and ethical responsibility that a Forensic Psychiatrist must