Forensic psychiatry is the subspecialty of psychiatry that focuses on interrelationships between psychiatry and the law. Forensic psychiatrists are often thought of, and depicted in popular culture, as experts in civil and criminal litigation, such as in determinations of criminal responsibility. While these traditional functions and roles of forensic psychiatrists remain central areas of practice, the field of forensic psychiatry is also increasingly relevant to general psychiatry. In ever more complex and legally regulated practice settings, forensic issues permeate nearly all areas of clinical practice, from matters relating to confidentiality and sharing of medical information to assessing patients' risk of violence to themselves and others, including prevention of harm and civil commitment.
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