Mental health professionals, regardless of their training or clinical interests, are generally aware of the numerous legal issues that must be faced on a daily basis. These issues include patient con®dentiality, the risk for suicide or harm to others, dual relationships, and many other matters that confront the professional who seeks to provide the best care possible. Ethical and legal issues in psychotherapy are regularly discussed in various forms, including textbook chapters, ethical standards published by professional organizations, practice manuals, and professional journal articles. When reviewing a new offering, such as A Clinician's Guide to Legal Issues in Psychotherapy: Or Proceed with Caution, a guiding question might be ``does this book offer anything new or different?.'' Another useful benchmark for evaluating this work is to identify what the author's goals are for the book and to evaluate whether or not these goals have been met.
This well written and highly readable book is authored by a well known expert in the ®eld of mental health and the law. Dr. William H. Reid is a practicing psychiatrist, teacher, researcher, and author who has extensive experience consulting and testifying in cases involving malpractice by mental health professionals. As a result, he is able to present several detailed case examples to illustrate relevant points throughout the book. Overall, Dr. Reid's book is targeted at "nonphysician mental health professionals, including psychologists, psychotherapists, and counselors" and is intended as a guide to help lower legal risks in clinical practice, increase understanding of common forensic issues, help clinicians recognize potential problems before they occur, and clarify risk±bene®t issues involved in common assessment, treatment, and case management. With a very conversational writing style that makes this book unique, Dr. Reid achieves his goals and has produced a reasonably priced book that will be of great practical value to mental health practitioners. Although directed at the nonphysician, psychiatrists will also ®nd many helpful suggestions outlined in this book.
Beginning with an aptly titled ®rst chapter, "First, Practice Well," the book proceeds with a general discussion of how the law and mental health professions interact and overlap. There are chapters on how to observe proper standards of care, maintain appropriate boundaries and relationships with patients, and practice in various settings (e.g., hospitals, clinics, and private of®ces). Other topics include the