Forensic psychiatry and the autonomy trapdoor

The June 2018 podcast features Dr John Kasinathan, Clinical Director of Adolescent Mental Health at Justice, Health, and Forensic Mental Health Network in NSW. Dr Kasinathan suggests that the growing number of mentally ill and intellectually impaired offenders alongside a plateau of public mental health resources may mean that forensic psychiatry in Australasia is at a tipping point. The reasons why the otherwise admirable drive for autonomy underlying the NDIS may be making it more difficult for the most vulnerable patients to access appropriate least restrictive care, and how to approach the mix of organic, psychiatric, and personality factors presenting in the forensic population are discussed.