PMID: 15583521

Issn Print: 1527-4160

Publication Date: 2004/11/01


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Two Cases From the Forensic Files

WILLIAM H. REID

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Author Information: www.psychandlaw.org

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Excerpt

High school and college students email me daily wanting to know how they can become forensic psychiatrists (usually saying “psychologist” instead). They’ve been watching lots of (sometimes pretty non-credible) forensic science on television and they think that’s what we do. They just know that’s what they want to do with their lives.
CSI Psychiatry. It has a nice ring: Bill Macy as a terse but likable doctor who spends his time ferreting out the truth against impossible odds, then going to court with last-minute information to save the day. His staff is limited to people who look like they just came from a modeling gig (you choose the magazine). Every week a new story, a new mystery. And don’t forget those cute little flashlights.
Not likely. But everyone enjoys case histories and they are often instructive. This month’s column presents a couple, with the descriptions changed as appropriate for privacy and confidentiality.
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