Ethical and Legal Issues in Psychiatry

Psychiatric providers face ethical and legal concerns as they strive to appropriately diagnose and treat mental illness. Because individuals disclose intimate personal details when speaking about their mental health, confidentiality and respect for persons is of utmost importance. Indeed, simply diagnosing mental illness involves normative judgments that have significant broader consequences. Yet, when disordered behavior threatens individuals' or others' safety, practitioners may breach confidentiality or provide involuntary treatment. In these and other contexts, mental health providers often interface with the legal system. The subspecialty that formally applies psychiatric skills and knowledge to address medicolegal questions is called forensic psychiatry.