Why do present-day mental health professionals practice the way that they do? Over the past fifty years, a number of landmark court holdings have changed such basic principles as what material is confidential, how civil commitment and involuntary treatment are conducted, and when a therapist has a duty to protect the public from a dangerous patient. Unlike most legal texts, this volume explores these complex principles through the human stories of the litigants involved.

‘This outstanding book reveals the personal stories behind the landmark cases that impact current psychiatric practice. The stories and analysis will help mental health professionals understand the background and rationale for the legal principles and laws that affect us and our patients. I enthusiastically recommend this well-written and extremely interesting book.'

Renee Binder - University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine

‘From Courtroom to Clinic is a landmark work from the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry. This highly readable, well researched authoritative book presents the eleven most significant landmark court cases that have changed mental health law and shaped mental health practice in a compelling presentation of the human stories behind these cases.'

David A. Adler - Tufts University School of Medicine, Massachusetts