Interest in Treating Difficult and Morally Objectionable Patients

Dr. James Noel shares how his interest in treating difficult and morally objectionable patients developed from an early exposure to the importance of mental health in his upbringing. He recalls a pivotal experience as a child when he saw a magazine cover depicting the Jonestown Mass murder-suicide, which sparked his curiosity and led to him writing a school report pretending to be a survivor. Coming from a family with a background in medicine, as well as law enforcement and the legal profession, forensic psychiatry became an ideal way for him to blend his interests in mental health and the legal system.