Legal Issues in Clinical Practice with Victims of Violence

John E. B. Myers has a national reputation as an expert in interpersonal violence. As a practicing attorney and law professor, he has focused much of his career on advocacy for abused and neglected children and persons involved in domestic violence.¹ In addition to the book reviewed here, he has authored or edited numerous books and chapters on these topics. He was the 2000 recipient of the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Contribution to Child Advocacy Award.²

With his considerable expertise and experience in the legal aspects of interpersonal violence, Myers wrote this book to offer mental health and social work professionals needed information “about the legal system and their role in it, particularly when working with victims of child maltreatment or domestic violence” (jacket cover). The book's target audience is clinical practitioners.

The book delivers both general legal content as well as practical information for clinicians. The book is divided into five parts, with parts I–III covering legal basics, an overview of the criminal justice system, and a synopsis of the civil justice system as relevant to mental health clinicians. Part IV addresses clinicians and courts and includes chapters on testifying, serving as an expert witness, and issues related to confidentiality and privilege. Part V focuses on proving interpersonal violence in court. The book is constructed such that each part or chapter could be read independently of other sections.

The book succeeds in providing core information about the legal system in a way that is approachable to the reader. For mental health clinicians with little previous experience with the legal system, parts I–III provide a digestible and practical overview of basic legal principles, as well as hallmarks of criminal law, family law, and juvenile law. Part I, for example, summarizes the sources of law in the United States and the court system. Although most of the content in parts I–III will be readily familiar to mental health clinicians with forensic training, there are some topics that are likely to interest and inform even seasoned forensic practitioners. An example of this is the chapter on hearsay, which describes common exceptions to the hearsay rule.

Myers skillfully holds readers' attention by including case studies to illustrate concepts and application of the law to factual scenarios. The case studies prompt the reader to consider the relevant law, what type of evidence would be presented if the case went to trial, and what stakeholders could have done differently to prevent or address the concerns that prompted legal involvement. At the end of most chapters is a section called “Apply What You Have Learned.” Here, the author presents a case that addresses some of the core material in the chapter and prompts the reader to consider how the case should be decided. The author then provides an analysis of the case with explanations, when relevant, of the applicable law, persuasive facts, and how the legal case was decided. This is a helpful way to digest the concepts, particularly for clinicians without forensic training.

The book emphasizes how treating clinicians may come into contact with and participate in the legal system. In the preface, Myers states that the “purpose of the book is to address the legal and ethical dimensions” (p. viii) when interacting with the legal system. Despite this laudable goal, there is only cursory discussion of the distinction between clinical provider and forensic evaluator. Although the chapter on malpractice includes short sections on clinical and forensic roles in mental health and dual relationships, there is very little in the text on ethics or professional competence considerations relevant to treating clinicians functioning as experts.

Myers has stated, “If you want to help people in a way that is similar to being a doctor or a psychologist, become a lawyer.”¹ There are many similarities across these professions, including that these practitioners commonly advocate for their patients or clients. It is important to recognize, however, that when mental health professionals function as experts, they have responsibilities to strive for objectivity in rendering opinions in the service of justice. Future editions of the book would better help clinicians without advanced forensic training by providing further discussion of the ethics challenges and potential conflicting obligations that may arise when treating clinicians are asked to be objective reporters or experts on medical–legal questions. That being said, the book offers a reader-friendly overview of the justice system and provides clear examples of how mental health clinicians may participate in the legal system. I recommend this text as an introduction to legal issues in mental health practice.

• © 2019 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law