Developing a Forensic Practice, forensic practice, forensic psychology, forensic psychiatry, forensic mental health, forensic operations, forensic ethics, expert witness, becoming an expert witness

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-41141729-1']); _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'reidpsychiatry.com']); _gaq.push(['_setAllowLinker', true]); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> Developing a Forensic Practice, forensic practice, forensic psychology, forensic psychiatry, forensic mental health, forensic operations, forensic ethics, expert witness, becoming an expert witness

Return to Psychiatry and Law Updates Main Page

Dr. Reid's Forensic Training Syllabus
has been supplanted by his Guttmacher Award winning book,

Developing a Forensic Practice
Operations and Ethics for Experts

Routledge Mental Health (a division of Taylor & Francis, New York), 2013

See Table of Contents below.

CLICK HERE for ordering information.

From the PREFACE

. . . Once written for psychiatrists, this work has been completely updated for use by any independently licensed mental health clinician who practices—or wants to practice—at the interface of mental health and the law in the United States legal system. The book is written from the viewpoint of a private practitioner or forensic service contractor, one who acts as a forensic consultant or expert in his or her particular clinical field (psychology, psychiatry, social work, mental health nursing, mental health administration, and others.)

I do not provide very much information about basic law or legal cases (such as the ‘‘landmark cases’’ that underlie much of the interface between mental health and the law). This is a practical guide that assumes the reader is already well founded in his or her clinical field and wishes guidance about forensic practice matters.

The nidus for this work was designed in a workshop format with a qualified discussant available. I have tried to make this new book format stand alone. Most or all of the content should be readily understandable by clinicians with little experience in forensic work, but the very nature of practical books implies that one should often look elsewhere for details, further education, specialized information, and clarifications. One should get relevant (often supervised) training and experience before representing oneself as a subspecialist. Various references and bibliographies should help, but readers should feel free to query and work with experienced, credible forensic specialists and training programs; this, like other professional pursuits, is not a ‘‘cookbook’’ endeavor.

William H. Reid, M.D., M.P.H.
Horseshoe Bay, Texas, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Getting Started
2. Vocabulary
3. Lawyer–Expert Relationships
4. Records and Record Review
5. Evaluations
6. Reports and Affidavits
7. Deposition and Trial Testimony
8. Fees and Billing
9. Ethics
10. Marketing
11. Your Office and Office Procedures
12. Liability in Forensic Practice
13. A Lawyer’s Perspective on Forensic Mental Health Experts (Skip Simpson, J.D.)

APPENDICES (Forms, Letters, Report Examples)

Internal Documents, Letters, Communications
A. Initial Attorney Letter
B. Fee Sheet
C. Settlement Acknowledgment
D. Evaluation Appointment Letter
E. Evaluee Information Sheet
F. Notification of Treatment Need
G. Subpoena Duces Tecum Response
H. Pre-Testimony Deposit Worksheet
I. Pre-Testimony Deposit Letter
J. Time Worksheet
K. Vendor Confidentiality Agreement
L. Employee Confidentiality Agreement

Report Examples
R1. Report: Trial Competency (Fitness to Proceed) (Simple)
R2. Report: Trial Competency (Fitness to Proceed) (Complex)
R3. Report: Criminal Responsibility (Sanity)
R4. Report: Criminal Defense, Mitigation of Charge or Sentence
R5. Report: NGRI Release, Defense
R6. Report: Personal Injury Defense (PTSD)
R7. Report: Clinician–Patient Sex, Plaintiff
R8. Report: Malpractice, Plaintiff (Complex, Doctor and Hospital)
R9. Affidavit: Malpractice, Plaintiff Pre-Suit
R10. Letter/Report: Malpractice, Plaintiff Pre-Suit, Lack of Causation
R11. Report: Malpractice, Plaintiff (Complex)
R12. Report: Malpractice, Defense (Complex, Facility)
R13. Report: Malpractice, Defense (Facility), Forensic Practice Standards
R14. Report: Malpractice, Defense (Clinician) (Alleged Fetal Damage from Medication)
R15. Report: Accidental Overdose vs. Suicide
R16. Report: Defense, Death in Custody
R17. Affidavit: Defense Rebuttal, Death in Custody
R18. Report: Workplace Stressors Allegedly Causing Suicide, Expert Report Rebuttal
R19. Report: Private Insurance Disability Appeal (Complex)
R20. Report: Employee Emotional Injury, Treater–Expert Conflict
R21. Report: Professional Licensing Agency Review
R22. Report: Professional Licensing Agency Review
R23. Opinion Letter: Professional Licensure
R24. Report: Civil Capacity, Contracting
R25. Report: Capacity, Guardianship (Complex, Contested)
R26. Opinion Letter: Capacity, Business, and Testamentary
R27. Report: Auto Accident vs. Suicide
R28. Affidavit: Supporting Motion to Strike Expert Testimony (Forensic Practice Standards)
R29. Letter: Rebuttal of Expert’s Report, Forensic Practice Standards

Index

Return to Psychiatry & Law Updates Main Page