A Practitioner's Guide to Mental Health Law

A Practitioner's Guide to Mental Health Law provides a comprehensive and accessible guide to a complex but fascinating area of law, covering matters of everyday concern to lawyers and other mental health professionals in a clear and easy-to-read format. Topics include:

• An overview of the statutory and regulatory framework for mental health law
• The impact of the ECHR on mental health law
• The meaning of mental disorder
• Law and procedure governing civil admissions to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983
• Police powers in respect of the mentally disordered
• Treatment of patients under Part IV of the Mental Health Act 1983
• Rules governing the admission to hospital and treatment of children and young persons
• The rights of detained patients
• Discharge powers available to responsible clinicians, nearest relatives and hospital managers
• The constitution, role and powers of Mental Health Tribunals
• Aftercare, guardianship and community treatment orders
• Medical treatment and other decision-making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005
• The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
• Mental disorder and criminal law

The Guide also provides a glossary of key terms and participants in the legal process, a summary of the main differences between English and Welsh law and procedure, definitions and explanations of the main psychiatric disorders, and checklists covering the key procedural points in hospital admissions.