Research Information System
in: Forensic Psychiatry and Ethical Approaches in Legal Issues, Nursen Turan Yurtsever, Editor, NOVA Science Publishers Inc. , New York, pp.91-110, 2021
Posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may
occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic
event such
as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act,
war/combat, or rape
or who have been threatened with death, sexual violence, or
serious injury.
Individuals with PTSD may have impairments in aspects of their
psychological, physical, interpersonal, and occupational lives.
PTSD
usually has a chronic course and causes disruptions in the general
and
social functioning of the person. PTSD can be both underdiagnosed
and
overdiagnosed in clinical settings. There are clear differences in
the clinical
approach to PTSD cases and the forensic perspective. The
medicolegal
approach is different from the clinical viewpoint. Psychiatrists
are
frequently asked for evaluations of traumatic events in civil and
criminal
matters. Psychiatrists are asked to evaluate if the traumatic
event caused or
contributed to a psychiatric disorder or a functional impairment.
They are
also asked to make a distinction between causal and contributing
factors.
In addition, the factors that contribute to the person’s current
mental state
and functionality should be well reviewed, and a possible
malingering
should not be overlooked. This chapter will review the clinical
and ethical
implications in evaluating patients with PTSD in a forensic
setting.