John W. Thompson

Filicide: Historical review and prevention of child death by parent

Filicide has occurred throughout the world since before recorded history. Although rates have declined in developed nations, it remains a leading cause of child death with approximately equal numbers of children killed by fathers and mothers. A large percentage of filicides is associated with mental illness, particularly postpartum depression and psychosis. The remainder results from child abuse and neglect. Men convicted of filicide are usually incarcerated whereas female perpetrators are more likely to receive treatment-oriented sentences. Individuals working with families and children should be trained to recognize risk factors and intervene to protect endangered children.

Patient Characteristics and Outcomes Related to Successful Outpatient Competency Restoration: Outpatient competency restoration

Criminal defendants have a fundamental right to a fair and speedy trial. However, individuals found incompetent to stand trial are unable to move forward in the adjudication process and are often mired in protracted legal proceedings. If competency restoration is statutorily permissible and can be conducted in the outpatient setting, we propose that it should be considered based on burgeoning empirical data. We present data from an outpatient forensic clinic in which individuals are conditionally released to receive competency restoration in the community. Results indicated that three variables, including being single/never married, having comorbid intellectual disability and mental illness, and having ones conditional release revoked, were negatively related to successful restoration. The final model explained approximately one-third of the variance in restorability and correctly classified 75% of cases. Results demonstrate that individuals can be safely released to the community and successfully restored to competency in the outpatient setting. Utilizing outpatient competency restoration would not only reduce strain on inpatient facilities, but would also reduce the cost of treatment. Copyright

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE | Psychiatry

Psychiatric malpractice has been an area of increasing concern to psychiatrists over the past 50 years. This chapter will examine the most common causes of action against psychiatrists including breaches of confidentiality, lack of informed consent, inadequate medication management, negligent psychotherapy, inadequate suicide assessment and prevention, duty to warn or protect third parties from harm by psychiatric patients, and doctor–patient boundary violations.