Chapter Nineteen: Law, Society, and the Mental Health Profession

Forensic Psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with intersections between psychological practice and research and the judicial system

Criminal Commitment

A legal process by which people accused of a crime are instead judged mentally unstable and sent to a treatment facility

Not guilty by reason of Insanity

A verdict stating that defendants are not guilty of a crime because they were mentally unstable at the time of their crimes

MNaghten Test

A legal test that holds people to be insane at the time they committed crime if, because of a mental disorder, they didnt know the nature of the act or didnt know right from wrong

Irresistible Impulse Test

A legal test that hold people to be insane at the time they committed a crime if they were driven to do so by an uncontrollable "fit of passion"

Durham Test

A legal test that holds people to be insane at the time they committed a crime if their act was the result of a mental disorder

American Law Institute test

A legal test that combines aspects of the MNaghten, irresistible impulse, and Durham tests

Outpatient Commitment

A way of maintaining control over offenders even after their release using community treatment, patient monitoring, and rehospitalization if necessary

Guilty but Mentally Ill

A verdict stating that defendants are guilty of committing a crime but are also suffering from a mental illness that should be treated during their imprisonment

Guilty with Diminished Capacity

A defendants mental dysfunction is viewed as an extenuating circumstance that the court should take into consideration in determining the precise crime of which they are guilty

Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders

Some sex offenders who are repeatedly found guilty of sex crimes have a mental disorder

Sexually Violent Predator Laws

Laws that call for certain sex offenders whove been convicted of sex crimes and have served their sentence in prison to be removed from prison before their release and committed involuntarily to a mental hospital

Mentally Incompetence

A state of mental instability that leaves defendants unable to understand the legal charges and proceedings they are facing and unable to prepare an adequate defense with their attorney

Jail Diversion

When defendants with relatively minor charges are treated on an outpatient basis

Civil Commitment

A legal process by which a person can be forced to undergo mental health treatment

Parens Patriae

The state can take action to protect patients from self-harm, including through involuntarily hospitalizing them

Police Power

The state can take steps to protect society from a person who is dangerous

Right to Treatment

State is constitutionally obligated to provide adequate treatment to all people committed involuntarily

Right to Refuse Treatment

The legal right of patients to refuse certain forms of treatment

Malpractice Suits

A lawsuit charging a therapist with improper conduct in the course of treatment

Jury Specialists

A subsect of clinical specialists who advise lawyers about which potential jurors are likely to favor their side and which strategies are likely to win jurors support during trials

Code of ethics

A body of principles and rules for ethical behavior, designed to guide decisions and actions by members of a profession

Confidentiality

The principle that certain professionals will not divulge the information they obtain from a client

Duty to Protect

The principle that therapists must break confidentiality in order to protect a person who may be the intended victim of a client

Employee Assistance Programs

Mental health services made available by a place of business

Stress Reduction Programs

Workshops or group sessions in which mental health professionals teach employees techniques for coping, solving problems, and handling and reducing stress

Managed Care Programs

The insurance company determines which therapists clients may choose from, the cost of sessions, and the number of sessions for which a client may be reimbursed

Telemental Health

The use of various technologies to deliver mental health services without the therapist being physically present