Vicarious trauma and occupational hazard for forensic mental health professionals

Vicarious trauma or vicarious traumatization is the effects on a health-care worker that results from the empathic engagement or therapeutic relationship with clients or patients and their reports of traumatic experiences. The term was coined in response to the experience of psychotherapists working with trauma survivors and is widely attributed to McCann and Pearlman 1990 [1]. They developed a constructivist self-development theory discussing therapist reactions to clients’ traumatic material. They described that vicarious trauma can be understood as related to the graphic and painful material trauma clients portray to the therapists as well as the therapists unique cognitive schemas or beliefs and assumptions about self and others [1]. This theory has developed, has subsequently been described as compassion fatigue and has been subject to a considerable amount of research since this early description [2-18]. It has also focused on various professionals, including mental health professionals, and their vulnerability from working with a variety of clients or patients [4-6,8-10,12-14,19]. In this context, forensic mental health professionals are not specifically mentioned, although it is quite clear that the nature of the work that they do would make them vulnerable to vicarious trauma and “compassion fatigue.”

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Psychiatric admissions: The first law in Saudi Arabia

The Mental Health Care Law in Saudi Arabia was passed in 2014. This paper focuses on the articles of the law that are related to psychiatric admissions both voluntary and involuntary. The mental health-care law is similar to the laws in western countries. However, these articles and subsections are curtailed to the limited health systems and to the local culture. As the mental health-care system and culture evolves, the mental health-care law will be modified in the future.

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Kratom-Induced Psychosis: Case report and literature investigation

Substance use disorder is a major concern for public health. Legal substances are often misused to get high. Beside the risk of developing subsequent mental health and physical conditions, one of major risk is related to behavioural changes leading to criminal behaviour. Some of these substances need regulation to ensure public as well as individual safety. This article is a case report describing Mitragyna speciosa (Kratom) induced psychosis in a patient suffering from Schizophrenia. We hope this article can bring attention to regulating bodies about the risks associated with readily available “legal” drugs like Kratom.

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