Chapter 19 - Law, society, and the mental health profession

Question 1

Forensic Psychology

Answer 1

The intersections between the mental health field and the legal and judicial systems

Question 2

Criminal commitment

Answer 2

Accused of crimes are judged to be mentally unstable, they are unusually sent to a mental institution for treatment

Question 3

Not guilty of reason of insanity

Answer 3

People are judged mentally unstable at the time of their crimes and so innocent of wrongdoing

Question 4

M’Naghten Test/rule

Answer 4

stated that having a mental disorder at the time of a crime does not by itself mean that the person was insane; the defendant also had to be unable to know right from wrong

Question 5

Irresistible impulse Test

Answer 5

emphasized the inability to control one’s actions. A person who committed a crime during an uncontrollable “fit of passion” was considered insane and not guilty under this test

Question 6

Durham Test

Answer 6

• replaced in most courts
• Based on Durham vs. U.S.
• Stated simply that people are not criminally responsible if their “unlawful act was the product of mental disease or defect”

Question 7

American Law Institute test

Answer 7

Held that people are not criminally responsible if at the time of a crime they had a mental disorder that prevented them from knowing right from wrong or from being able to control themselves and to follow the law

Question 8

Guilty but mentally ill

Answer 8

Found to have had a mental illness at the time of the crime, but the illness was not fully related to or responsible for the crimes

Question 9

Guilty with diminished capacities

Answer 9

a defendant’s mental dysfunction is viewed as an extenuating circumstance that the court should take into consideration in determining the precise crime of which he or she is guilty

Question 10

Mentally Incompetent

Answer 10

Ensure that defendants understand the charges they are facing and can work with their lawyers to prepare and conduct an adequate defense

Question 11

Outpatient Civil commitment

Answer 11

Allow patients to be forced into community treatment programs

Question 12

Emergency Commitment

Answer 12

Many situations require immediate action; no one can wait for commitment proceedings when a life is at stake

Question 13

Deinstitutionalization

Answer 13

hundreds of thousands of people with severe disturbances now live in the community, and many of them receive little if any treatments

Question 14

Right to Treatment

Answer 14

Ruled that states are obligated to provide “adequate treatment” to all people who have been committed involuntarily

Question 15

Right to refuse treatment

Answer 15

All patients have a right to refuse treatment if they are sane

Question 16

Malpractice Suits

Answer 16

• risen in recent years
• claims against clinicians for various reasons
  ex: a patient tries to commit suicide

Question 17

Duty to protect

Answer 17

a responsibility to break confidentiality, even without the client’s consent, when it is necessary “to protect the client or others from harm”

Question 18

Employee Assistance Programs

Answer 18

Mental health services made available for places of business

Question 19

Stress reduction and problem solving programs

Answer 19

workshops or group sessions in which mental health professionals teach employees techniques for coping, problem solving and reducing stress

Question 20

Managed Care Programs

Answer 20

Insurance companies determine which therapists clients may choose from, the cost of sessions and the number of sessions for which a client attends

Question 21

Peer review system

Answer 21

clinicans who work for the insurance company periodically review a client’s treatment program and recommend that insurance benefits be either continued or stopped