Informed Consent in Forensic Evaluations

Author(s)

David L. Shapiro, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1991

Publication Title

Psychotherapy in Private Practice

Volume

9

Issue/Number

1

First Page

145

ISSN

0731-7158

Last Page

154

Abstract/Excerpt

Until very recently, the idea of informed consent was not seen as relevant to forensic evaluations performed in reference to a Court Order. However, several recent Court decisions have suggested otherwise, indicating that the patient needs to know that the relationship between himself or herself and the examiner is not a confidential one and that the material will be made available to the Court or various attorneys. This paper will follow the evolution of the concept of informed consent through several Supreme Court decisions and a series of more recent cases regarding privilege and waiver of privilege. Suggested formats for informed consent will be presented and a model will be proposed indicating the lack of confidentiality in the relationship, the sources to whom the report will be made available and guidelines or assessing the competency of the patient to understand those procedures.

NSUWorks Citation

Shapiro, D. L. (1991). Informed Consent in Forensic Evaluations. Psychotherapy in Private Practice, 9(1), 145-154.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facarticles/861