Fundamentals of forensic psychiatry

Forensic Psychiatry is a sub-specialty field of psychiatry that stands at an interface between law, mental illness and abnormal human behaviour. It is related to criminology (the study of crime and criminals), and it has an interface between the law and psychiatry.

Typically, forensic services deal with assessing offenders with mental illness and provide expert opinion to the Courts on the aetiology, pathology and prognosis of offenders.

Forensic psychiatry expert opinion might be sought by the courts to comment on; fitness (the ability of a mentally disordered offender to stand trial); mental impairment defenses in the setting of criminal responsibility and the mentally disordered offender during the conduct of the offences and the likelihood of future risk of such behaviour.

Forensic services also provide treatment and rehabilitation of mentally disordered offenders and focus on safely reintegrating them back to the community, while also being acutely aware of any risks such individuals pose to the community. Forensic services are also involved in identifying, treating and managing mentally disordered offenders who enter the correctional system.

Thus, the role of the forensic psychiatrist is multifold and requires an understanding of mental illness in the setting of criminal offending, legislation governing such offenders, and risk assessment.

The role of this unit is to ensure that the student develops a basic understanding of forensic psychiatry and the role of the forensic psychiatrist.

The unit will also enable you to understand the various approaches to violence risk assessment, the role of the expert witness, the multiple approaches to service delivery in prison settings, prison hospitals and the community, and finally the task of treatment and rehabilitation of the mentally ill offender.