PSYC 268 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Mental Health Professional, Prima Facie, Mental Disorder

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 268
• Professor: Deborah Connolly

Document Summary

Understand the nature or object of the proceeding. Communicate with counsel: formal inquiry into competency status must occur whenever a bona fide doubt about an accused"s fitness/ competency is raised, court agrees with conclusions of mental health professional in upward of 95% Fitness/ competency assessment: focus on accused"s current mental state. Interview: assess whether the accused is able to demonstrate the specific abilities required in order to proceed with the case. 3: fitness interview test-revised, macarthur competence assessment tool-criminal adjudication (us, evaluation of competence to stand trial-revised (us, third party information: existing records of mental health, interview with family members. Less likely to be charged with violent crime or have substance use disorders: predictive factors of unfit, psychosis, mental retardation, schizophrenia, mood disorders, organic brain disorders. Assessment of criminal responsibility: focus on accused"s mental state at the time of alleged offence, retrospective evaluation.