Robert Simon's Bad Men Do What Good Men Dream: A Forensic Psychiatrist Illuminates the Darker Side of Human Behavior is that rare title that is both essential reading for the mental health professional and accessible in style and content to the fascinated lay reader. In twelve powerful and provocative chapters, the author introduces readers to a psychological perspective on evil, character and destiny, as well as the making of good men and women. Simon also illuminates the psychology of psychopaths, serial killers, rapists and all manner of evil characters who appall and challenge us by their very existence. He rejects the common belief that his subjects are "monsters" with nothing in common with the more "normal" among us. Simon posits that if we deny our dark side, it can only obscure our understanding of violent offenders and impede our ability to both know ourselves and control our own, at times, unacceptable impulses.

The author is among the foremost experts in forensic psychiatry. He is Director of the Program in Psychiatry and Law at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Author or co-author of more than two dozen books and editions, including the foundational Textbook of Forensic Psychiatry, Simon has made important contributions to the field of forensic psychiatry for more than 30 years. He is also an eloquent writer with a dramatic, yet nuanced, narrative style that takes the reader inside the mind of the evildoer.

The first edition of this groundbreaking work garnered uniformly superlative reviews and was translated into several languages. This updated version retains Simon's engrossing portrayals and keen insight, while offering a number of key enhancements. The highlights include: - Explorations of the Internet and violence, "corporate" psychopaths, cyberstalkers, perpetrators of school violence, and a new cast of serial killers, terrorists, and other evildoers.- A psychological perspective on evil, serial killers, and us.- Updates on the neuroscience and genetics of deviant behaviors.- Reflections on empathy, character, and destiny: the making of good men and women.- A new foreword by Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Co-Founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School, that illuminates Simon's thesis and grounds it in historical context.

Graphic but never sensational, unsparing but never cold, Simon's writing transcends the theoretical and achieves that most difficult of aims: leading readers to discover, contain, and transform the darkness within us all, to the betterment of our human condition.

Ethical decision making in the context of conflicting values takes on a fresh immediacy when the self itself is in conflict. Divided Staffs, Divided Selves: A Case Approach to Mental Health Ethics brings the immediacy of a clinical case conference to a wide range of students and clinicians. The book provides both clinical case material and a method for engaging in a dialogue choices in the mental health care field. The essays that introduce the volume place the ethical problems of treating mentally ill people in the context of the health care ethics movement and traditions of ethical decision making. The individual cases arise from clinical and consultative experiences. This case material will serve as the basis for learning and reflection by clinicians in interaction with their colleagues, and it also will be especially valuable to students studying ethical concepts who do not have access to real-life cases or problems.

A successor to the popular The Psychiatrist in Court: A Survival Guide, The Mental Health Professional in Court has expanded the scope of the earlier book to include other professionals in the field. The authors have thoroughly updated the text, and provided a comprehensive coverage of legal processes. This book equips the mental health professional with a hands-on, practical working knowledge of what to expect -- and how to survive -- in the courtroom and the legal system.

The book includes many helpful features: - An informal, user-friendly writing style that is accessible, reassuring, and empowering, and a succinct presentation that helps the reader achieve mastery of the material quickly and efficiently -- a boon when prepping for a court appearance- A practical, rather than theoretical, approach to issues, with examples from literally hundreds of actual cases and countless consultations with peers and colleagues on how to deal with the legal system- A thorough understanding of the book's audience. Because the authors understand that most mental health professionals' knowledge about going to court comes from television and movies, the book addresses the many deeply embedded misperceptions and distortions perpetuated by the media, taking the reader from rudimentary information about the legal system to more sophisticated topics, such as the different approaches to testifying.- An indispensable legal glossary keyed to the text, which enhances understanding of courtroom terminology- Other beneficial features, such as key points at the end of each chapter, which provide easy-to-locate summaries, and additional appendices, which outline the legal system and provide suggested readings.

No one wants to appear in court, but in some cases it may be unavoidable. Brief enough to assimilate quickly, yet comprehensive in scope, The Mental Health Professional in Court: A Survival Guide is a reassuring and eminently useful guide designed to help the witness navigate the legal system.

What do you do when you run into a patient in a public place? How do you respond when a patient suddenly hugs you at the end of a session? Do you accept a gift that a patient brings to make up for causing you some inconvenience? Questions like these - which virtually all clinicians face at one time or another - have serious clinical, ethical, and legal implications. This authoritative, practical book uses compelling case vignettes to show how a wide range of boundary questions arise and can be responsibly resolved as part of the process of therapy. Coverage includes role reversal, gifts, self-disclosure, out-of-office encounters, physical contact, and sexual misconduct. Strategies for preventing boundary violations and managing associated legal risks are highlighted.