Am J Psychiatry 1984; 141:395-399
Copyright © 1984 by American Psychiatric Association
Forensic psychiatry and applied clinical ethics: theory and practice
JR Ciccone and C Clements
The authors briefly describe and then apply a new method--applied clinical
ethics--for identifying and working with ethical problems. This method,
starting from the clinical context, develops ethical constructs that may be
tested in clinical practice and revised if required. The work was done in
the context of a combined university- county forensic psychiatric service.
The authors discuss three of the identified ethical issues: effects of
deinstitutionalization, countertransference with forensic populations, and
prediction of dangerousness. They discuss the basis for developing ethical
norms from clinical experience and suggest ethical guidelines for medical
practice.
