Psychological Injuries Forensic Assessment, Treatment, and Law

Human emotional suffering has been studied for centuries, but the significance of psychological injuries within legal contexts has only recently been recognized. As the public becomes increasingly aware of the ways in which mental health affects physical - and financial - well-being,psychological injuries comprise a rapidly growing set of personal injury insurance claims. Although the diverse range of problems that people claim to suffer from are serious and often genuine, the largely subjective and unobservable nature of psychological conditions has led to much skepticismabout the authenticity of psychological injury claims. Improved assessment methods and research on the economic and physical health consequences of psychological distress has resulted in exponential growth in the litigation related to such conditions. Integrating the history of psychological injuries both from legal and mental health perspectives, this book offers compelling discussions of relevant statutory and case law. Focussing especially on posttraumatic stress disorder, it addresses the current status and empirical limitations of forensicassessments of psychological injuries and alerts readers to common vulnerabilities in expert evidence from mental health professionals. In addition, it also uses the latest empirical research to provide the best forensic methods for assessing both clinical conditions such as posttraumatic stressdisorder and for alternative explanations such as malingering. The authors offer state-of-the-art information on early intervention, psychological therapies, and pharmaceutical treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder and stimulating suggestions for further research into this complexphenomenon. A comprehensive guide to psychological injuries, this book will be an indispensable resource for all mental health practitioners, researchers, and legal professionals who work with psychological injuries.

Melanie L. O'Neill is University College Professor at Malaspina University College in Nanaimo, British Columbia.