Europe and no fans had been installed. I pointed out that many of the speakers had slides to show, and that there was no screen. Obligingly, somebody went out and came back with a sheet, a hammer, and some large nails, then launched an attack on the new woodwork. This gave a white surface and effectively destroyed the panelling. Once when attending a medical meeting in Ghana I was invited to th...

Indeed, one gets affected by the mood of the time. To me the temptation is to reflect on the broader sweep of events. In the recent past rapid changes have taken place, all over the world. We are witnessing too many violent self-assertions by people, of their ethnic identity in different corners of the world. Powerful economic forces are deciding almost everything in all areas of human existenc...

Without choice, psychiatrists are involved in geria-trics. The number of elderly patients in psychiatric hospitals and units is increasing and will continue to increase. They come from two main sources. Long stay patients, legacies of the past and products of our present ignorance, grow old within the hospital. Sophistication in other branches of medicine makes old age possible for larger numbe...

OBJECTIVE An increasing number of general psychiatrists are acting as expert witnesses in the legal system. The purpose of this article is to help psychiatrists who are interested in doing forensic work by informing them of the risks entailed. METHOD The author reviews the medical and legal literature about expert witness immunity. RESULTS The author explains the traditional concept of expe...

Some 40 years ago I was at a loss when I was summoned as an expert witness in an indigenous tribal court to defend a witness accused of witchcraft. The experience shows how the psychiatrist's work requires knowledge of an individual's spiritual framework.

This article aims to describe the difference between descriptive and dynamic psychiatry. As part of the latter every psychiatrist should be able to construct a psychodynamic formulation. A psychodynamic formulation, an indication of psychological mindedness, helps the psychiatrist to recognize the unique, personal aspects of the illness and the life of the patient. The formulation furthermore h...

Sattar, et al. have made a contribution to our profession generally in the manner of our use of terminology by noting that some phenomena observed in psychotherapy are similar to those in the work of the forensic psychiatrist, such as in the psychiatric evaluation, preparation of testimony, and provision of testimony. In doing so, the authors clarify the definition of the work of the forensic p...

Restriction of the rights of patients in a psychiatric hospital, isolation and fixation, compulsory treatment, and round-the-clock monitoring are negatively perceived by them, contribute to the stigma of a psychiatric hospital, and prevent timely access to psychiatric help. Objectives: We assessed the opinions of patients in psychiatric hospitals and psychiatrists about coercion and violence i...

The practice of forensic psychiatry can be exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling; however, there are also a number of pitfalls that the practitioner may encounter. Scheduling conflicts may pose significant problems for the busy practitioner, especially one who has an active treatment practice. Differences of opinion between and among forensic psychiatrists can be difficult for some psychiatrists....

Aims and method This article presents a 12-month case series to determine the fraction of ward referrals of adults of working age who needed a liaison psychiatrist in a busy tertiary referral teaching hospital. Results The service received 344 referrals resulting in 1259 face-to-face contacts. Depression accounted for the most face-to-face contacts. We deemed the involvement of a liaison psychi...