Dangerous Patients

Ronald Doctor, FRCPsych, is Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy at the West London Mental Health NHS Trust, Chair of the NHS Liaison Committee, British Psychoanalytical Society, Chair of the Association of the Psychoanalytical Psychotherapists in the NHS (APP), Academic Secretary of the Psychotherapy Faculty, Royal College of Psychiatrists and Honorary Clinical Lecturer, Imperial College London. He has a particular interest in forensic psychotherapy, and he has edited two books: 'Dangerous Patients: A Psychodynamic Approach to Risk Assessment and Management' (2003); and 'Murder: A Psychotherapeutic Investigation' (2008).

This thought-provoking new collection - the fourth volume in the Forensic Psychotherapy Monograph Series - investigates the inherent difficulties in risk assessment. We have all read the lurid headlines when things go wrong but what is it like for the professional who has to make such vital decisions? Ronald Doctor has assembled an impressive group of clinicians who specialise in various aspects of forensic psychiatry and psychotherapy to present their experiences and theories on this formidable subject. The book begins with a general overview of current psychodynamic approaches and covers various mental health settings, including medium- and high-security units, general medical hospitals and psychiatric wards. This collection will prove to be an indispensable guide to any healthcare professional and a fascinating insight for all into this highly-pressured environment.

• Series Foreword , Foreword , Introduction , Pathways of risk: the past, the present, and the unconscious , Assessment of violence in medium-secure units , Risk assessment in general psychiatry: a psychoanalytic perspective , The psychodynamic assessment of violence in the general medical hospital, or, taking the “non-body” seriously , Psychoanalytic aspects to the risk containment of dangerous patients treated in high-security hospital , Containment and countertransference issues in a violent borderline patient , Risk-taking in the assessment of maternal abilities , The role of violence in perverse psychopathology , Envy and violence in confused sexuality