Canadian Landmark Cases in Forensic Mental Health

Download or read book Canadian Landmark Cases in Forensic Mental Health written by Graham Glancy and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2020-04-02 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: High-profile legal cases involving individuals with mental health challenges often address complex issues that confront previous decisions of the courts, influence or change existing social policies, and ultimately have a profound impact on the daily practice of mental health professionals and the lives of their patients. Providing in-depth context into milestone cases in forensic mental health, this book addresses issues such as the confidentiality of mental health records, criminal responsibility, fitness to stand trial, the right of individuals to refuse mental health treatment, and the duty of mental health practitioners to warn and protect individuals who may be at risk of harm at the hands of a patient. The authors explore the social and political context in which these cases occurred, incorporating court decisions, contemporaneous media articles, and legal reviews in the analysis. Graham Glancy and Cheryl Regehr, who are experts in the field of forensic psychiatry, draw upon their own practice, in addition to scholarly literature, to describe the impact of the decisions rendered by the courts in the area of mental health and offer practical guidelines for professionals working at the interface of law and mental health.