Articles

Expansion of Liberty Interests Under Parole Conditions: Beyond Anti-psychotics by Susan M. Meffert, MD, MPH, John Chamberlain, MD

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided the case of United States v. Cope, 506
F.3d 908 (9th Cir. 2007), on November 5, 2007. At issue were the imposition of a lifetime of supervised
release and the special conditions of release.. Dr. Meffert discusses this case and the underlying issues.

Darfur Refugees in Cairo: Mental Health and Interpersonal Conflict in the Aftermath of Genocide – Susan Meffert MD, MPH, Charles Marmar, MD

Hundreds of thousands of Darfur people affected by the Sudanese genocide have fled to Cairo, Egypt, in search of assistance. Collaborating with Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), the authors conducted a mental health care needs assessment among Darfur refugees in Cairo. Information was collected using individual and focus group interviews to identify gaps in mental health care and develop understandings of emotional and relationship problems. The refugee mental health care system has a piecemeal structure with gaps in outpatient services. There is moderate to severe emotional distress among many Darfur refugees, including symptoms of depression and trauma, and interpersonal conflict, both domestic violence and broader community conflict, elevated relative to pregenocide levels. Given the established relationships between symptoms of depression/traumatic stress and interpersonal violence, improving mental health is important for both preventing mental health decompensation and stemming future cycles of intra- and intergroup conflict.

Edna Foa, PhD – Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Edna Foa, PhD, the creator of Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is interviewed by Time Magazine.

Suicide Considered An “Elusive” Enemy For US Military

Suicide Considered An "Elusive" Enemy For US Military. ABC World News (4/29, story 9, 3:40, Sawyer) reported, "In the battle against suicide in its ranks," the US Army is "fighting an elusive, often silent, enemy. Last year, 160 active-duty soldiers committed suicide despite an unprecedented effort to address the problem." This enemy took the life […]

Studies Mixed On Effects of Violent Video Games On Children

Studies Mixed On Effects Of Violent Video Games On Children. The Los Angeles Times (5/3, Adams) reports, “A number of studies have shown that watching a lot of violence on television or playing violent video games…produces aggressive tendencies in kids.” However, “other researchers pooh-pooh such assertions and say that scientific findings have been decidedly mixed […]

Expert Witness Disclosure – Proposed Changes to Federal Rule 26

There are proposed significant changes to the disclosure requirement features of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26. These changes will extend work product immunity.Congress makes changes to the widely endorsed Aproposal awaiting Supreme Court approval on May 1, 2010, as of December 1, 2010 Experts will no longer be required to disclose draft versions of their FRCP 26(a)(2) Reports. Furthermore they will no longer be required to disclose communication including electronic communication between the expert and the retaining attorney

Informed Consent Revisited

The medical malpractice insurer has recently issued an “Alert” revisiting the concept of “informed consent” as it is currently viewed by the courts. Download MIEC’s Alert #17 Informed Consent Revisited here: Download Informed Consent – MIEC Alert #17

Scientists Read Brain’s Magnetic Fields to Spot PTSD

Scientists Read Brain’s Magnetic Fields to Spot PTSD
Test identified those with the disorder 90% of the time

Genetic Variants in Depressed People Raise Suicide Risk

Researchers have identified five gene variants that raise the risk for suicide attempts in people suffering from depression

Meth psychosis presents medical, legal challenges.(FORENSIC MEDICINE)

David Kan, MD, an fpamed forensic psychiatric expert in the diagnosis and treatment of substance abuse, is quoted in the following article on methamphetamine psychosis:  Meth psychosis presents medical, legal challenges.(FORENSIC MEDICINE) By Susan London | March, 2009 Clinical Psychiatry News SEATTLE — Methamphetamine-induced psychosis is a challenging condition from both a medical and legal perspective, according to […]

Mark Levy MD Presentations in China: What is Psychoanalysis? What is Transference?

The following is a slide show of a presentation entitled "What Is Psychoanalysis? What is Transference?"  given by Mark Levy, MD in Xi'An and Wuhan China during October 2009:Download The Analysis of Transference

PTSD In US Servicemen In Iraq – Interview with Dr. Levy – AP 5/12/09

AP 5/12/09: Father of US Army Sgt John M. Russell says his son was treated poorly in a a military stress treatment center in Baghdad before he killed 5 of his fellow soldiers on 5/11/09. Mark Levy, MD was interviewed about the nature of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and the role it may have played in […]

Ethical Issues in Forensic Psychiatry With Children and Adolescents

By Richard A. Ratner, M.D. Psychiatric Times | December 2005 | Vol. XXIII | Issue 14 Any discussion of contemporary child and adolescent forensic psychiatry will eventually encompass considerations of the ethical underpinnings of this work. Ethical issues arise inevitably in clinical work with children and adolescents and are even more likely to surface in forensic settings. Download Ethical Issues […]

APA (American Psychological Association) – Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct – 2002

INTRODUCTION AND APPLICABILITY The American Psychological Association's (APA's) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (hereinafter referred to as the Ethics Code) consists of an Introduction, a Preamble, five General Principles (A – E), and specific Ethical Standards. The Introduction discusses the intent, organization, procedural considerations, and scope of application of the Ethics Code. […]

AMA (American Medical Association) – Principles of Medical Ethics

Preamble The medical profession has long subscribed to a body of ethical statements developed primarily for the benefit of the patient. As a member of this profession, a physician must recognize responsibility to patients first and foremost, as well as to society, to other health professionals, and to self. The following Principles adopted by the […]

The Intricate Link Between Violence and Mental Disorder – Eric B. Elbogen, PhD; Sally C. Johnson, MD

Vol. 66 No. 2, February 2009   Archives  •  Online Features Original Article  This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article […]

Medical Expert Witness as Evidence

  THIS BLOG APPEARED ON jANUARY 4, 2009 ON http://yourlegalwayout.blogspot.com/2009/01/medical-expert-witness-as-evidence.html iT IS REPRODUCED HERE FOR YOUR INTEREST.     The Legal Way This blog is all about interesting decisions oftribunals all around the world whether fictional or real. I would like to emphasize the arguments and defenses that were use in order to guide the […]

Violence Risk Assessment by David Y. Kan, MD

To assist with his teaching of psychiatric residents at UCSF School of Medicine, Dr. Kan has prepared the following PowerPoint slide show summarizing many key aspects of violence risk assessment, a critical forensic psychiatric skill. Download David Kan MD Violence Risk Assessment Psych interns 2-5-07

Study Finds Settling Is Better Than Going to Trial

  August 8, 2008 Study Finds Settling Is Better Than Going to Trial By JONATHAN D. GLATER Note to victims of accidents, medical malpractice, broken contracts and the like: When you sue, make a deal. That is the clear lesson of a soon-to-be-released study of civil lawsuits that has found that most of the plaintiffs […]

Birth Trauma & PTSD

Birth Trauma: Stress Disorder Afflicts Moms Study Suggests That PTSD May Be More Common Than Previously Believed By RACHEL ZIMMERMAN August 5, 2008; Page D1 Amid the debate over how to effectively manage maternal mental-health disorders, a new type of postpartum illness is gaining attention: post-traumatic-stress disorder due to childbirth. PTSD is most commonly associated […]

PTSD & Sleep

Sleep is the enemy A former Marine fights nightmares of Iraq by struggling to stay awake. Millions, veteran and civilian, face a nightly battle. By Jia-Rui Chong Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 5, 2008 SAN DIEGO — By the time the sun began to rise one recent Friday over his Mira Mesa neighborhood, Mitch […]

Pentagon spends $300M to study troops’ stress, trauma

Pentagon spends $300M to study troops’ stress, trauma By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY The Pentagon is spending an unprecedented $300 million this summer on research for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, offering hope not only for troops but hundreds of thousands of civilians. The money — the most spent in one year on […]

Can Depression Change Your DNA?

Can Depression Change Your DNA? By Psych Central News Editor       Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 31, 2008 Thursday, Jul 31 (Psych Central) — New research points to significant modifications of an important gene that suggests depression may play a role in changing the very makeup of the brain.Researchers at the […]

Meth or Madness? Methamphetamine Use and Mental Illness – by David Y. Kan, MD

This PowerPoint slide show was created by David Y. Kan, MD to accompany a talk he gave to a Substance Abuse Psychiatric Residents’ Seminar at the Ft. Miley VA Medical Center in San Francisco in 2007. Dr. Kan is also a board certified forensic psychiatrist and is Assistant Clincial Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Division of […]