A Call for Asylum Evaluation and Advocacy in Forensic Psychiatry

[摘要] asylumforensic evaluationadvocacyimmigrationA recent editorial by Chaimowitz and Simpson in The Journal raised crucial and overdue questions regarding the role of advocacy in the profession of forensic psychiatry.1 They advocate for a “need to question what we are doing to make changes to the system for the betterment of our patients and our society” (Ref. 1, p 158) and suggest that space exists “to regularly step outside of the objective position” to call out social injustice (Ref. 1, p 160). Incorporating these principles into forensic practice can take many forms and how to operationalize their proposal is likely to engender debate, even among those psychiatrists who strongly embrace these goals. One approach to advocacy entails calling out the structural biases in our legal system and pushing for policies that favor rehabilitation, combat racism, and confront the inequities of the carceral state. A second approach (not at all incompatible with the first, but likely to be overlooked) involves reconsidering the cases which forensic psychiatrists prioritize when choosing whom to evaluate. How forensic psychiatrists allocate their services, which are a scarce and valuable resource for society, can play a significant role in achieving social justice and bettering the world. Providing pro bono psychiatric evaluation for asylum seekers offers one such opportunity for the profession to redeploy its resources. By incorporating training in such evaluations into fellowship programs, facilitating opportunities for forensic psychiatrists to donate time for these assessments, and valuing such work toward career advancement, the profession of forensic psychiatry could fill an unmet need for which members of this field are distinctively suited by training and experience.

[学科分类] 儿科学

[关键词] asylum;forensic evaluation;advocacy;immigration