From Courtroom to Clinic. Legal Cases that Changed Mental Health Treatment

Introduction
1. Raising American standards in the treatment of persons with mental illness Wyatt vs. Stickney (1972) Susan Hatters Friedman
2. The limits of hospitalization after commitment O'Connor vs. Donaldson (1975) Deborah Giorgi-Guarnieri
3. Who speaks for the children? Parham vs. J. L & J. R. (1979) Peter Ash
4. The right to refuse treatment Rogers vs. Commissioner of Department of Mental Health (1983) Alec Buchanan
5. The least restrictive alternative Olmstead vs. L. C. & E. W. (1999) Megan Testa
6. Informed consent Canterbury vs. Spence (1972) Debra A. Pinals
7. End of life decision making Cruzan vs. Director, Missouri Department of Health (1990) Richard Martinez
8. Prohibiting psychiatrist-patient sex Roy vs. Hartogs (1976) Jacob M. Appel
9. Psychotherapist-patient privilege Jaffee vs. Redmond (1996) Jacob M. Appel
10. Protecting others from dangerous patients Tarasoff vs. Regents of the University of California (1976) Phillip J. Resnick
11. The insanity defense US vs. Hinckley (1982) Alan W. Newman
Conclusion
Index.

Why do present-day mental health professionals practice the way that they do? Over the past fifty years, a number of landmark court holdings have changed such basic principles as what material is confidential, how civil commitment and involuntary treatment are conducted, and when a therapist has a duty to protect the public from a dangerous patient. Unlike most legal texts, this volume explores these complex principles through the human stories of the litigants involved.

• Brings human interest to what is otherwise rather dry legal reasoning
• Helps mental health professionals understand why they practice the way that they do
• Engaging reading that will appeal to educated lay persons

Peter Ash, Emory University, Atlanta
Peter Ash, M.D., is a forensic child and adolescent psychiatrist and a Professor of Psychiatry at Emory University, Atlanta, where he directs the Psychiatry and Law Service. He is also a past president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law and of the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association.