Thursday, February 13, 2014Abnormal Psychology Chapter 19: Society and the Mental Health Profession -Law and Mental Health •The mental health profession interacts with the legislative and judicial systems in two key ways. First clinicians, help assess the mental stability of people accused of crimes. Second, the legislative and judicial systems help regulate mental health care. -Criminal Commitment •The punishment of people convicted of crimes depends on the assumption that individuals are responsible for their acts and are capable of defending themselves in court. Evaluations by clinicians may help judges and juries decide the culpability of defendants and sometimes result in criminal commitment. •If defendants are judged to have been mentally unstable at the time they committed a crime, they may be found not guilty by reason of insanity and placed in a treatment facility rather than a prison. “Insanity” is a legal term, one defined by legislators, not by clinicians. In federal courts and about half the state courts, insanity is judged in accordance with the M’Naghten test, which holds that defendants were insane at the time of a criminal act if they did not know the nature or quality of the act or did not know right from wrong at the time they committed it. Other states use the broader American Law Institute test. •The insanity defense has been criticized on several grounds, and some states have added an additional option, guilty but mentally ill. Defendants who receive this verdict are sentenced to prison with the proviso that they will also receive psychological treatment. Still another verdict option is guilty with diminished capacity. A related category consist of convicted sex offenders, who are considered in 1Thursday, February 13, 2014some states to have mental disorder and are therefore assigned to treatment in a mental health facility. •Regardless of their state of mind at the time of the crime, defendants may be found mentally incompetent to stand trial, that is, incapable of fully understanding the charges or legal proceedings that confront them. If so, they are typically sent to a mental hospital until they re competent to stand trial. -Civil Commitment •The legal system also influences the clinical profession. First, courts may be called upon to commit non-criminals to mental hospitals for treatment, a process called civil commitment. Society allows involuntary commitment of people considered to be in need of treatment and dangerous to themselves or others. Laws governing civil commitment procedures vary from state to state, but a minimum standard of proof - clear and convincing evidence of the necessity of commitment - has been defined by the Supreme Court. -Protecting Patients’ Rights •The courts and legislatures significantly affect the mental health profession by specifying legal rights to which patients are entitled. The rights that have received the most attention are the right to treatment and the right to refuse treatment. -Other Clinical-Legal Interactions •Mental health and legal professionals also cross paths in four other areas. First, malpractice suits against therapists have increased in recent years. Second, the legislative and judicial systems help define professional boundaries. Third, lawyers may solicit the advice of mental health professionals regarding the selection of jurors and case strategies. Fourth, psychologists may investigate legal phenomena such as eyewitness testimony and patterns of criminality. "2Thursday, February 13, 2014-Ethical Principles •Each clinical profession has a code of ethics. The psychologists’ code includes prohibitions against engaging in fraudulent research and against taking advantage of clients and students, sexually or otherwise. It also establishes guidelines for respecting patient confidentiality. The case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California helped to determine the circumstances in which therapists have a duty to protect the client or others from harm and must break confidentiality. -Mental Health, Business, and Economics •Clinical practice and study also intersect with the business and economic worlds. Clinicians often help to address psychological problems in the workplace, for example, through employee assistance programs and stress-reduction and problem-solving seminars. •Reductions in government funding of clinical services have left much of the expense for these services to be paid by insurance companies. Private insurance companies are setting up managed care programs whose structure and reimbursement procedures influence and often reduce the duration and focus of therapy Their procedures, which include peer review systems, may also compromise patient confidentiality and the quality of therapy services. -Technology and Mental Health •The remarkable technological advances of recent times have affected the mental health field, just as they have affected all other fields and professions. In particular, these advices have contributed to new vehicles and triggers for psychopathology, new forms of psychopathology, and various kinds of cybertherapy. ""3Thursday, February 13, 2014-The Person Within the Profession •Mental health activities are affected by the personal needs, values,and goals of the human beings who provide the clinical services. These factors inevitably affect the choice, direction, and even quality of their work.