The psychiatric expert report is an increasingly requested element in the judicial field, and this is so for diverse and varied reasons.
Reasons for requesting a psychiatric expert’s report
In the first place, the psychiatric expert report, in a generic way, is necessary because the legal system requires it when the judge must be informed of specific aspects on a matter in which he is not an expert, as it happens with behavioral disorders or mental illnesses.
Secondly, because the psychiatric expert report can be an essential element in determining the criminal responsibility of an ill person, and precisely for this reason it is necessary that his illness be taken into account in order to receive special consideration before the law.
The psychiatric expert report is also essential when seeking to obtain a handicap or disability in the labor jurisdiction, based on the existence of a mental disorder or illness that must be accredited before the court.
Finally, the psychiatric expert report can be of special relevance when we are in the civil jurisdiction and we are trying to reach an incapacitation, declare the nullity of a will, invalidate a marriage or determine the need for an involuntary internment.
Structure of a psychiatric expert report
For practical purposes, any psychiatric expert report should be structured as follows:
Preamble: who does it, why it is done, where it is done and to whom it is done.
Expository part
- Current syndrome or disease
- Personal/family history
- Premorbid vital curve
- Explorations
Reflective part
- Clinical considerations
- Medico-legal considerations
Conclusions: conclusions must be clear, concrete and precise.
For more information, consult a specialist in Psychiatry.