In my commentary, I suggest that the criminal court is a place where justice examines tragedy, as described by Aristotle in his Poetics. I suggest that there are strong parallels with Aristotle's account of tragic narratives and the concepts of representation and performance of forensic expert testimony, as described by Griffith and Baranoski-especially in relation to the creation of voice. On ...

As a forensic psychiatrist, I have written extensively about my own routine application of psychiatric and psychoanalytic principles to my practice. 1-7 However, until very recently, I was unaware that Freud, in addition to supplying the indispensable theoretical underpinning, had made direct contributions to forensic psychiatry. Sigmund Freud requires no introduction. His theories and their th...

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the classification of mental disorders for children and adolescents has been revised. Although some changes are welcome and needed, others have been controversial. In this article, I examine the diagnostic changes along with some of the associated controversies and resolutions. The implications for the practice...

The practice of forensic psychiatry can be exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling; however, there are also a number of pitfalls that the practitioner may encounter. Scheduling conflicts may pose significant problems for the busy practitioner, especially one who has an active treatment practice. Differences of opinion between and among forensic psychiatrists can be difficult for some psychiatrists....

Dear Mr. Shaw—I received your letter on last Tuesday. I think I will get hung, but I do not care as long as I get a good breakfast before they hang me. If they do not hang me I think I will commit suicide. That will do just as well. I will strangle myself. I hope you are well. I go up on Monday to the Old Bailey to be tried, I hope you will be there. I think they will sentence me to die. If the...

Members of a multicultural society must all be subject to the same equitable system of justice. However, culture exerts profound influences on human behavior, and cultural considerations have a place in determinations of capacity and in appropriate sentencing. Cultural psychiatry can contribute to forensic psychiatry by helping to contextualize individuals' actions and experiences. This context...

The study by Neal et al. of mock jurors in the penalty phase of a homicide case led me to observations on gender changes over the past few decades in the professions of law and forensic psychiatry and psychology. From an earlier paucity of women in these professions, today their percentages have greatly increased. Yet, as in this study, there are differences that work to the advantage of men in...

In this commentary, I reflect on the narratives of offending that are generated in the courtroom and those that are generated in the therapeutic space between an offender patient and his or her therapist. I discuss the similarities and differences between these different stories and explore the role of the psychiatrist in both cases.

Media and news agencies often call psychiatrists and psychologists and pose questions about mental illness (a worthy topic) or some inane but catchy topic (such as the one I received from a reporter asking, with a straight face, “How do you diagnose people who talk to themselves?”). Big news about crimes, and especially terrorism, may push psychiatrist interviews from the local feature to the c...

This report provides an overview of the criminal forensic mental health system in Great Britain, that is England and Wales. The report is based on the author's participant observation as a visiting consultant psychiatrist at a regional forensic facility in Manchester, England during early 1994. British law casts a net over a wider population of forensic patients than does U.S. law. There is a f...