The Psychiatric Report

Alec Buchanan is Professor, Division of Law and Psychiatry, Yale University Department of Psychiatry, New Haven, CT, USA. Michael A. Norko is Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Division of Law and Psychiatry, Yale University Department of Psychiatry, New Haven, CT, USA.

• Preface; Foreword Paul S. Appelbaum; Introduction Michael A. Norko and Alec Buchanan; Part I. Principles of Writing: 1. History and function of the psychiatric report Kenneth J. Weiss, Robert M. Wettstein, Robert L. Sadoff, J. Arturo Silva and Michael A. Norko; 2. Preparation Cheryl Wills; 3. Confidentiality and record keeping Howard Zonana; 4. Ethics Richard Martinez and Philip J. Candilis; 5. Writing a narrative Ezra E. H. Griffith, Aleksandra Stankovic and Madelon V. Baranoski; 6. Draftsmanship Phillip J. Resnick and Sherif Soliman; Part II. Structure and Content: 7. Report structure Alec Buchanan and Michael A. Norko; 8. Criminal litigation J. Richard Ciccone and Josh Jones; 9. Civil litigation Patricia Ryan Recupero and Marilyn Price; 10. Civil and sex-offender commitment Debra A. Pinals, Graham D. Glancy and Li-Wen Grace Lee; 11. Competency to practice and licensing Jeffrey S. Janofsky; 12. Child custody Peter Ash; 13. Employment: disability and fitness Robert P. Granacher, Jr.; Part III. Special Issues: 14. Writing for US federal courts Sally Johnson; 15. Incorporating psychological testing Madelon V. Baranoski; 16. Reasonable medical certainty Gregory B. Leong, J. Arturo Silva and Robert Weinstock; 17. Violence risk assessment Alec Buchanan and Michael A. Norko; 18. Malingering Charles Scott and Barbara McDermott; 19. Psychiatry and ethics in UK criminal sentencing John O'Grady; 20. Conclusion Alec Buchanan and Michael A. Norko; Index.

'I really enjoyed reading this book. It is well put together, practical, and full of useful advice … [It] will be a welcome addition to the library of all those who practice forensic psychiatry and of teachers and students of forensic psychiatry for whom this should be a seminal text. Many of the remaining practising clinical psychiatrists, including myself, could learn a lot from this volume, if only about the simplicity and brevity of any report writing.' Richard Balon, Annals of Clinical Psychiatry