Skip to main content
  1. Courses
  2. Involuntary Treatment in th...

Involuntary Treatment in the Continuum of Forensic Settings


Course Description
Involuntary treatment statutes and case law exist to provide necessary and substantive treatment to patients who need it but whose illness impairs their capacity to consent to it. They also balance the ethical principles of respect for autonomy and beneficence, acknowledging that prompt, as well as continued, treatment is a key factor in prognosis. Across forensic settings, however, involuntary treatment is often not invoked or deployed, leading to, amongst others, consequences such as: recurrent cycle of criminalization and rehospitalization, prolonged hospitalization, inability to utilize pre-trial diversion programs secondary to lack of psychiatric stabilization, increased violence and injury in both correctional and hospital settings, and poorer functional outcomes. We present here the real landscape of the use of involuntary treatment across forensic settings (i.e. corrections, forensic hospitals, community-based treatments), logistical and cultural barriers to implementation, and a concerted effort of outreach deployed to successfully address gaps in the provision of care due to medication refusal in forensic patients with impaired capacity to consent.

Speakers
Cara A. Klein, MD
KyleeAnn Stevens, MD
Christy Mulkerin, MD
Melanie Scott, PsyD

Accreditation Statement

The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s). Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Learning Objectives

Improving knowledge, skills, or performance in the following area: Service, e.g. treatment of forensic patients and development of service delivery systems and enhancement of consulting skills.

Disclosure

All meeting planners, Program and Education Committee Members, in control of content for the meeting have signed disclosures indicating that they have no relevant financial relationships with any ineligible companies.

All presenters of this activity have also signed disclosures indicating that they have no relevant financial relationships with any ineligible companies.