PsychEd Episode 61: Introduction to Forensic Psychiatry with Dr. Amina Ali

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This episode covers an introduction to forensic psychiatry with Dr. Amina Ali, a forensic psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Ali joined the Forensic Division at CAMH in 2018. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining CAMH, Dr. Ali received her Doctor of Medicine at the American University of the Caribbean, completed her Psychiatry residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, and fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Ali's leadership experience includes serving as Chief resident during her residency, for which she was bestowed a Residency Leadership Award from the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center. She is a Competence By Design coach to residents and serves on the Psychiatry Competency Committee and as a CaRMS file reviewer for the University of Toronto General Psychiatry Residency Program. She is also a supervisor for forensic residents and sits on the subspecialty resident committees. Within the forensic division, Dr. Ali has contributed to the organization and implementation of the Summer Studentship in Forensic Psychiatry Program and is our Medical Education and Wellness Lead. Internationally, Dr. Ali was appointed to serve on the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Education Committee and most recently recruited to Chair their Civil Commitment and Consent to Treatment Working Group.

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows:

By the end of this episode, the listener will be able to…

1. Describe the role of forensic psychiatry and its relation to the Ontario Review Board.

2. Outline the criteria for fitness to stand trial.

3. Describe the function and possible outcomes of a treatment order.

4. Outline the criteria for not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder.

5. Distinguish between the disposition options available under the Ontario Review Board.

6. Demonstrate an enhanced ability to advocate for and support patients in navigating the forensic psychiatric system.

Guest: Dr. Amina Ali

Hosts: Alexander Simmons (PGY3), Kate Braithwaite (MD), and Rhys Linthorst (PGY5)

Audio editing by: Gaurav Sharma (PGY5)

Show notes by: Alexander Simmons (PGY3)

References:

1. Crocker, A. G., Nicholls, T. L., Seto, M. C., Charette, Y., Cote, G., Caulet, M. (2015). The National Trajectory Project of individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in Canada. Part 2: the people behind the label. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 60(3), 106-116.

2. Prpa, T., Moulden, H. M., Taylor, L., Chaimowitz, G. A. (2018). A review of patient-level factors related to the assessment of fitness to stand trial in Canada. International Journal of Risk and Recovery, 1(2), 16-22.

3. Carroll, A., McSherry, B., Wood, D., & Yannoulidis, LLB, S. (2008). Drug‐associated psychoses and criminal responsibility. Behavioral sciences & the law, 26(5), 633-653.

4. Watts, J. (2013). Updating toxic psychosis into 21st-century Canadian: Bouchard-Lebrun v. R. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 41(3), 374-381.

5. Crocker, AG, Nicholls, TL, Seto, MC, Cote, G, Charette, Y, Caulet, M. The national trajectory project of individuals found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder in Canada, Part 1: Context and methods. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2015;60(3):98-105.

6. Schneider, RD. Mental health courts. Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 2008;21:510-513.

7. https://www.orb.on.ca/scripts/en/about.asp#dispositions

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