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Forensic Psychiatry Services
Services
Ethics
History
Our Team
Forensic psychiatry encompasses the confluence
of mental health and law. In both criminal and civil law, questions
regarding mental health issues arise for which behavioral health
specialists may provide answers to attorneys and the courts. Our
multidisciplinary team conducts comprehensive psychiatric, neuropsychological,
psychological and neurological evaluations to answer these questions
when they arise.
We provide expertise in assessment and evaluation, formulating
objective, exhaustive reports. We translate the behavioral sciences
for the relevant audience in consultation, written reports, and
in courtroom testimony.
Our services are provided by psychiatrists board-certified by
the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). Furthermore,
our psychiatrists are fellowship-trained and ABPN board-certified
in the subspecialty of forensic psychiatry. Our team comprises
expertise and years of experience in diverse fields including
advanced
training in neuropsychology, licensed clinical psychology, and
ABPN board certification in neurology.
Our specialists perform rigorous and objective evaluations to
render the most comprehensive opinions. The synergy resulting
from the
collaboration of specialists from diverse fields and backgrounds
gives Western Psychiatric's Forensic Psychiatry Services a depth
and breadth of expertise unique in the field. In some cases, objective
measures
can be useful and Forensic Psychiatry Services has the expertise
to recommend and evaluate nearly all aspects of neuropsychological
and neurological functioning. Our experts are qualified to conduct
and interpret neuropsychological testing for all age groups,
from pediatric to geriatric, in consultation, written reports,
and in
the courtroom.
Our services apply to clients throughout the age spectrum. At
Western Psychiatric's Forensic Psychiatry Services have the
resources to elucidate any forensic question and the expertise
to present our findings
objectively, effectively, and comprehensibly, to the expert and
the layman alike.
 Services
Forensic Psychiatry Services provides
evaluations, opinions, and testimony regarding civil and criminal
matters. Some of our many services include:
-
Conservatorship and guardianship
-
Mental disability
-
Psychic injury
- Psychiatric malpractice
- Independent medical examination
- Worker’s compensation claims
- Americans with Disabilities Act assessment
- Employee Assistance
Program evaluations
- Fitness to work/Fitness to return to duty
- Sexual harassment
claims
- School assessment
- Civil and criminal competency
- Impaired professional assessments
- Criminal responsibility
- Risk assessment
- Child custody and visitation
- Decertification/Juvenile transfer
- Comprehensive pre-employment
screening
- Correctional psychiatry
For questions about our services
or to arrange a consultation with one of our experts, call toll-free
1-888-401-3131.
Ethics
All of our services are provided in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, and the American Psychological Association.
We strive for objectivity in all of our
endeavors in keeping with the ethical principles of forensic
psychiatry as delineated by the American Academy of Psychiatry
and the Law. We are bound by “underlying ethical
principles of respect for persons, honesty, justice,
and social responsibility.”
History
Western Psychiatric has a long history of expertise in the fields of forensic
psychiatry and psychology. In 1974, Western Psychiatric’s academic partner,
the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine,
founded the Law and Psychiatry Program to serve as a catalyst for interdisciplinary
research and practice in the area of law and mental health.
The Law and Psychiatry program was founded in 1974 by Loren Roth, MD, MPH, and
Alan Meisel, JD. During its early years, it provided consultation to units at
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic as well as spawned research about patients'
rights and the responsibilities of treating professionals. Over the years, the
program has been committed to providing clear analyses and empirical information
to guide the difficult task of providing treatment within the framework of systems
responsible for social control.
The Law and Psychiatry Program has served as the academic home for noted professionals
from several disciplines and has developed a reputation for innovative, large
scale research on law and mental health topics. Psychiatrists Paul Appelbaum
and Jeffrey Geller spent some of the formative years of their careers in this
program, as did sociologists Charles Lidz and Edward Gondolf, and psychologists
Edward Mulvey, William Gardner, and Elizabeth Cauffman. The program has always
maintained a commitment to performing sound research at the cutting edge of current
issues in the field.
In the 1970's and 1980's, faculty in the program published groundbreaking conceptualizations
and research on informed consent and other issues of ethics (laying the groundwork
for the development of the Center for Medical Ethics at UPMC). In the 1980's
through the present, the program has pursued an influential line of research
on the prediction of violence in mental patients. Recent research has focused
on the provision of services to juvenile offenders, particularly mentally ill
offenders, and the developmental aspects of antisocial behavior.
Emerging from this pedigree of excellence, Western Psychiatric’s
Forensic Psychiatry Services continues the tradition
of commitment and innovation. Our goals are excellence
in clinical practice, scholarship, and education. To
that end, Forensic Psychiatry Services offers clinical
services across the entire continuum of forensic psychiatry.
Forensic Psychiatry Services collaborates strongly with
the Law and Psychiatry program and supports the Fellowship
in Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh
as the primary teaching and training faculty.
Our Team
Cameron L. McGavin, MD
Medical Director, Forensic Services
Barbara Ann Beadles, MD
Sue R. Beers, PhD
Lisa A. Morrow, PhD
William S. Musser, MD
Stephen A. Zerby, MD
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