Essentials of Abnormal Psychology – Chapter 14: Mental Health Services—Legal & Ethical Issues

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key legal and ethical terms from Chapter 14, covering civil and criminal commitment, patient rights, forensic standards, and practice guidelines.

Civil Commitment

Legal process that allows involuntary hospitalization of individuals who meet specific criteria (mental illness, dangerousness, or grave disability).

Criminal Commitment

Detainment of a person in a mental health facility after being accused of a crime, pending evaluation of fitness to stand trial or a verdict of insanity.

Mental Illness (Legal Definition)

A statutory term referring to severe disturbances; not identical to clinical psychological disorders and varies by state law.

Dangerousness

Likelihood that an individual will cause harm to self or others; central factor in civil commitment decisions.

Grave Disability

Inability to care for basic personal needs, justifying possible involuntary commitment.

Police Power

Governmental authority to protect the health, welfare, and safety of society, used in civil commitment decisions.

Parens Patriae

Legal doctrine allowing the state to act as a surrogate parent to protect individuals who cannot care for themselves.

Involuntary Commitment

Court‐ordered hospitalization for treatment, applied to both dangerous and non‐dangerous persons in need of care.

Deinstitutionalization

Movement to close large psychiatric hospitals and treat individuals in community settings.

Transinstitutionalization

Shift of mentally ill persons from psychiatric hospitals to other institutions such as jails, shelters, or community facilities.

Criminalization of the Mentally Ill

Trend in which individuals with mental disorders are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated due to limited treatment options.

M’Naghten Rule

Original insanity test stating a person is insane if unable to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the crime.

Durham Rule

Insanity standard declaring a defendant not criminally responsible if the crime was the ‘product’ of mental illness.

American Law Institute (ALI) Standard

Insanity guideline emphasizing lack of substantial capacity to appreciate wrongfulness or conform conduct due to mental disorder.

Insanity Defense Reform Act

1984 U.S. law tightening federal insanity standards and shifting burden of proof to the defendant.

Guilty but Mentally Ill (GBMI)

Verdict allowing conviction while ensuring the offender receives mental health treatment in prison or hospital.

Competence to Stand Trial

Defendant’s ability to understand legal charges and assist counsel; required for a fair trial.

Burden of Proof (Competency)

Responsibility placed on the defense to demonstrate the defendant’s incompetence.

Therapeutic Jurisprudence

Use of behavioral science knowledge to create ‘problem‐solving’ courts that emphasize rehabilitation over punishment.

Expert Witness

Individual with specialized knowledge who offers opinions in court on issues such as diagnosis, competency, or malingering.

Duty to Warn

Legal obligation of therapists to inform potential victims of client threats, established in Tarasoff v. Regents (1976).

Tarasoff v. Regents

Landmark case creating therapists’ duty to warn identifiable victims of threats posed by clients.

Thompson v. County of Alameda

Court ruling clarifying that duty to warn applies only to specific, identifiable threats.

Right to Treatment

Legal guarantee that involuntarily committed patients receive adequate and humane mental health care.

Least Restrictive Alternative

Principle that treatment must occur in the setting that imposes the fewest constraints on personal freedom.

Right to Refuse Treatment

Legal right allowing patients, especially those facing forced medication, to decline certain interventions.

Informed Consent

Process of providing research participants enough information to make an educated decision about involvement.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Federal agency that develops and disseminates evidence‐based clinical practice guidelines for mental health services.

American Psychological Association Practice Guidelines

Standards outlining evidence requirements for clinical efficacy and clinical utility of psychological treatments.

Clinical Efficacy (Internal Validity)

Degree to which an intervention is proven superior to alternatives or no treatment in controlled research trials.

Clinical Utility (External Validity)

Practical value of an intervention regarding feasibility, acceptability, generalizability, and cost‐benefit in real‐world settings.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

Advocacy organization that promotes reforms to improve civil commitment and mental health services.

John Hinckley Jr. Case

1982 verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity that spurred public backlash and reform of the insanity defense.

Malingering

Intentional faking or exaggerating of symptoms for external gain, assessed by forensic psychologists.

Problem‐Solving Courts

Specialized judicial programs addressing underlying issues (e.g., substance use) with conditions like delayed sentencing.

Civil Commitment Petition

Formal request filed to a judge seeking involuntary hospitalization of an individual believed to need treatment.

Initial Civil Commitment Stage

Phase where concerned parties petition a judge and the individual is notified of proceedings.

Subsequent Civil Commitment Stage

Legal hearing in which a judge, informed by expert testimony, decides on commitment.

Insanity (Legal Concept)

State of mind at the time of a crime indicating lack of responsibility due to mental illness; differs from diagnosis.

Right to Privacy (Research)

Participant entitlement to confidentiality and protection of personal information during and after studies.

Anonymity in Research

Guarantee that individual data will not be identifiable in published study results.

Clinical Practice Guideline Template

APA framework evaluating treatments on efficacy and utility dimensions to guide providers.

Confidence in Treatment Efficacy

Judgment based on quality, replicability, and magnitude of evidence supporting an intervention.

Confidence in Clinical Utility

Assessment of how well treatment performs across diverse settings, cultures, and patient characteristics.

Right to Safeguarding of Records

Participant protection ensuring research data are securely stored and only accessible to authorized personnel.