Psychiatric Malpractice

The potential for psychiatric malpractice raises many dilemmas. Who will separate the competent therapist from the incompetent therapist? How can the public be protected against harmful or even useless treatments? It is not surprising, then, that we are beginning to see an increase in the legal regulation of psychiatric practice. In Psychiatric Malpractice: Cases and Comments for Clinicians, Simon and Sadoff address legal regulations, malpractice law, and practical problems encountered in psychiatric malpractice, including somatic therapies, suicide, violent patients, mishandling transference, and sexual exploitation of patients.
Because our society is becoming increasingly litigious, this book is essential for every clinician. A psychiatric malpractice suit can be one of the most devastating experiences in the professional life of a psychiatrist. Most psychiatrists are not familiar with the procedures involved in a malpractice suit.
Simon and Sadoff explore the major difficulties in clinical practice that can lead to a malpractice suit. The authors also examine what responsibility a psychiatrist has when a patient either attempts or commits suicide, the role of the doctor-patient relationship, transference and countertransference, the sexual exploitation of patients, and the assessment of a patient's potential for violence. All of these issues are discussed from clinical, ethical, and legal points of view. The authors illustrate their discussions with appropriate court cases.
Psychiatric Malpractice: Cases and Comments for Clinicians provides a comprehensive overview of the important issues in psychiatric malpractice. With almost every aspect of psychiatry being influenced by burgeoning legal procedures, this book outlines how best to avoid a malpractice suit.