The handbook of forensic mental health in Africa / edited by Adegboyega Ogunwale [and four others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ogunwale, Adegboyega, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Forensic psychology--Africa.

Forensic psychology.

Mental health services--Africa.

Mental health services.

Forensic psychiatry--Africa.

Forensic psychiatry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (335 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021.

Summary:

The Handbook of Forensic Mental Health in Africa traces the history of forensic mental health in Africa, discussing the importance of considering cultural differences when implementing Western-validated practices on the continent while establishing state-of-the-art assessment and treatment of justice-involved persons. Experts in the field of forensic mental health throughout Africa explore the current state of forensic mental health policy and service provision, as well as the unique ethical challenges which have arisen with the recent growth of interest in the field. The African and international research literature on violence risk assessment, competency to stand trial, malingering assessment, Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) evaluations, report writing as an expert witness and mental health legislation in the context of forensic practice are explored throughout. Finally, future directions for forensic mental health in Africa are discussed for juvenile, female and elderly offenders. This text is ideal for mental health, criminal justice and legal professionals working in clinical, research and policy contexts.

Contents:

Intro

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Affiliations of Contributing Authors

Foreword

Part I: Introduction

1. The history of forensic mental health in Africa

Introduction

Conclusion

References

2. Cross-cultural sensitivity in forensic mental health care

What is cultural competence?

Clinical assessment and diagnosis

Cultural biases in clinical assessments

Culture and prevalence of mental disorders

Etic and Emic approaches to clinical assessments

Culture-bound syndromes in forensic context

Cultural formulation in clinical assessments

Other cultural factors relevant to clinical assessments

Culture and antisocial personality

Engaging with cultural issues in practice

Dangerousness assessment

Involuntary commitment

Competency/capacity

Criminal matters

Culture and offending behavior

Cultural defenses

Children-related issues

Tort cases

The expert witness role

Clinical and academic training

Parole decisions and rehabilitation

Conclusions

Note

3. Forensic mental health care: Practice and policy in Africa

Mental health policies and legislation

West Africa

Southern Africa

East Africa (Uganda)

South Central Africa (Zambia)

Central West Africa

Forensic mental health policy, legislation and practice in Africa

Central/Eastern Africa (Rwanda)

North Africa

Southern Africa (South Africa)

West Africa (Nigeria)

Discussion

Recommendations

4. Best practices in service planning for prisoners in Africa

Profile of mentally ill offenders

Mental health services

Human rights abuse as it relates to mental health

Mental health legislation as it relates to the treatment of prisoners across Africa.

Services planning and evidence-based approach: A model for African prison settings

5. Ethics and the forensic mental health system in Africa

Standards relating to confidentiality

Standards and issues of consent

Honesty and striving for objectivity

Forensic opinions in the absence of examination

Dual role complexity

Financial benefit and quest for objectivity

Evidence of academic qualification and presentation of clinical findings in legal settings

Ethical controversy in forensic and general psychiatry

The timing of clinical evaluation after the offense

Ethical issues in expert evaluation of cases involving the insanity defense

Psychiatric testimony in psychological injury cases

The dual agent in forensic treatment settings

The forensic expert and the death penalty in African settings

Part II: Forensic mental health assessment

6. The state-of-the-art of violence risk assessment in Africa

A conceptual view of violence risk assessment

Definition

Risk factors

Protective factors

Approaches to violence risk assessment

Unstructured professional judgment

Actuarial approach

Structured professional judgment

What are the ethical concerns surrounding structured risk assessment?

Are structured violence risk assessments being conducted in Africa?

A medico-legal view of violence risk assessment

Legal factors

Socio-economic factors

The role of gender in violence

Ethics of practice in mental health

The future of violence risk assessment in Africa

Psychometric evaluation of the risk assessment instruments

Research designs

Clinical utility

Legislative change

7. Competency to stand trial evaluations in Africa

Introduction.

Competency-to-stand-trial legislations

Competency-to-stand-trial legislations in Africa

Competency-to-stand-trial evaluations

CST evaluation process

Difficulties with CST evaluations

Disposition of incompetent-to-stand-trial defendants

Conclusion and recommendations for research

Statutes cited

8. Malingering assessments in African forensic settings

Overview of malingering

Definitional issues

Etiology

Epidemiology

Subtypes of malingering based on theoretical models

Resnick model

Roger model

Lipian and Mills model

Assessment of malingering in forensic settings

An overview

Assessment of malingering in African settings

A Nigerian example: Clinical assessment at Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Nigeria

Empirical studies in South Africa

Psychological assessment

Subjective technique

Objective techniques

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)

Projective techniques

Rorschach inkblot test

Sentence Completion Test (SCT)

Draw a person (DAP)

Challenges of malingering assessments in African forensic settings

Mental health human and other resources

Validity of malingering assessment instruments

9. Not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI): Adjudication, clinical outcomes and rehabilitation

Insanity defense legislation in Africa

Insanity defense and criminal adjudication process

Disposal of insanity acquittees

Clinical characteristics of insanity acquittees

Rehabilitation of insanity acquittees

Conclusion and future directions

10. Best practices in expert testimony and report writing in Africa

History and purpose of expert psychiatric testimony

Who is an expert?.

Principles guiding expert witness roles

Expert psychiatric testimony in practice: An African perspective

Principles of writing the expert psychiatric report

Preparation

Initial contact with the case

Accessing and examining relevant data

Marshaling the evidence

Communicating the opinion

Ethics

Writing a narrative

Report structure

Incorporating psychological testing

Legal tests for the validity of scientific evidence: Lessons from Frye and Daubert

Oral testimony

Stages of expert testimony

Hearsay rules

Addressing the ultimate issue

Critical challenges to expert testimony

11. Mental health legislation and forensic practice in Africa

The state of mental health legislation across Africa: Texts and sub-texts

Human rights and ethical issues in mental health legislation

Human rights

Definition of mental disorder

Involuntary admission and treatment

Emergency treatment

Other forms of deprivation of liberty: Seclusion and restraints

Competence, capacity and guardianship

Clinical and experimental research

Oversight and review mechanisms

Forensic" mental health legislation: Treatment of mentally ill offenders under mental health law and relevant criminal legislations

Mental health assessment at arrest

Offender undergoing treatment at a psychiatric facility/designation of health establishments for the treatment of the mentally ill offender

Offenders found unfit to plead

Mentally ill offenders at sentencing

Convicted offender (prisoner) who becomes mentally ill

Duration of hospital order in the case of a prisoner on transfer direction

Attempted suicide and the need for psychiatric assessment

Absconding offenders from mental health establishments

References.

Part III: Special forensic populations

12. Mental health of children and adolescents within the juvenile justice system in Africa

Juvenile delinquency

Definition of a child

Mental health and juvenile delinquency

The juvenile justice system in Africa: A description

Epidemiology of mental disorders among adolescents in Africa's juvenile justice system

Mood and anxiety disorders

Behavioral disorders

Alcohol/substance-use disorder

Neurodevelopmental disorders

Relationship between mental health and juvenile delinquency

Challenges with responding to the mental health crisis in Africa's juvenile justice system

Future directions

1. Addressing socio-economic disadvantage

2. Developing a framework for mental health services in the juvenile justice system

3. Making a case for diversion programs

13. Forensic mental health care services for the elderly in Africa

The concept of elderly inmates

What types of crimes do elderly offenders commit?

Demographic information

Overall morbidity among elderly prisoners

Psychiatric morbidity of elderly prisoners

Substance-use disorder in elderly prisoners

Depression in elderly prisoners

Human rights of elderly prisoners

Service implication

14. Occupational therapy in forensic mental health: An occupational justice perspective

Forensic occupational therapy practice in the African context

Occupational rights and occupational justice in health promotion and risk management

Types of occupational injustices in forensic contexts

Occupational deprivation

Occupational imbalance.

Promoting change and creating opportunities for occupational participation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-00-302435-1

1-003-02435-1

1-000-40505-2

9781003024354

OCLC:

1249473372