This couldn't happen to me: boundary problems and sexual misconduct in the psychotherapy relationship.

Drawing on their own consultative experience illustrated by case vignettes and with support from the professional literature, the authors discuss the perennial problematic issue of boundary violations and sexual misconduct, aiming at an audience of both experienced and novice clinicians. The authors review the difference between boundary crossings and boundary violations and stress the therapist's responsibility to maintain boundaries. Therapist risk factors for violations include the therapist's own life crises, a tendency to idealize a "special" patient or an inability to set limits, and denial about the possibility of boundary problems. Factors exacerbating patient vulnerability, such as overdependence on the therapist, seeking therapy to find an intense relationship or even "true love," and the acceptance by childhood abuse victims of an abusive therapy relationship, are discussed. Consultation and education-for students and for clinicians at all levels of experience-and effective supervision are reviewed as approaches to boundary problems.

Stress and the forensic psychiatrist: a pilot study.

What are the sources of perceived occupational stress, and how troublesome are they to forensic psychiatrists? To examine these questions 1,800 90-item questionnaires were sent to the membership of AAPL. The questions explored what experiences forensic psychiatrists found most stressful and the degree of stress experienced. Three hundred seventy-two questionnaires were returned. On average, individuals rated the stress in their overall forensic practices as relatively low. Certain situations, however, were found to be highly stressful. Five of the most stressful aspects of forensic practice in this sample were: (1) fear of not being able to defend an opinion during cross-examination (63%); (2) fear of the prospect of disclosure of one's own content-related personal history (53%); (3) working with short deadlines (49%); (4) testifying while physically ill (43%); (5) stress from a retaining attorney's attempts to coerce an opinion (43%). An awareness of these matters may give guidance to people who are considering becoming forensic psychiatrists and may facilitate the management of stress.

"The whole truth" versus "the admissible truth": an ethics dilemma for expert witnesses.

The expert witness testifies under oath to tell "the whole truth," yet certain aspects of the legal system itself make this ideal difficult or impossible. The authors present both a philosophical and a practical discussion of the challenges for the expert in attaining this goal. After review of oaths in general and truth-telling in particular, real-life examples are provided to examine the vicissitudes of the whole truth in court. Recommendations are provided for experts, to preserve the truth in the adversary system.