Abstract
Objective: The forensic mental health system in Japan changed dramatically with the enforcement of the “Act on Medical Care and Treatment for the Persons Who Had Caused Serious Cases under the Condition of Insanity” or MTS Act, in 2005. The aim of this study is to evaluate the changes in attitude and behavior of general psychiatrists, towards forensic psychiatry. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey in 2010 on forensic psychiatry for Japanese psychiatrists, mirroring a previous study from 2007. Results: Comparing the results from both questionnaires, it is not evident that awareness of forensic mental health has improved among psychiatrists in the intervening three years. Conclusion: Further education about forensic mental health needs to be considered inJapan.
Highlights
The need to establish a sophisticated forensic mental health system has increased, as a result of the global trend toward deinstitutionalizing patients with mental disorders [1]
The aim of this study is to evaluate the changes in attitude and behavior of general psychiatrists, towards forensic psychiatry
23.6% (n = 382) reported that they were qualified as Judgment Physicians of the Medical Treatment and Supervision (MTS) Act, accounting for 42.2% of all Judgment Physicians in Japan (n = 905) [7]
Summary
The need to establish a sophisticated forensic mental health system has increased, as a result of the global trend toward deinstitutionalizing patients with mental disorders [1]. This Act provides a hybrid solution that straddles the judicial and medical systems, with the District Court serving as a judgment panel This panel consists of a judge and a mental health reviewer (“seishinhoken-shinpan-in”), with the latter being selected from a group of psychiatrists who hold a Judgment Physician license (“seishin-hoken-hantei-I”, a national license for forensic mental health specialists). A comprehensive forensic mental health system was subsequently established in Japan as a result of the MTS Act. the number of specialists dedicated to this system remained low [3]
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