The world is increasingly complex, but the way we communicate doesn’t have to be. From Academia to Practice: Why It Matters bridges the gap between mental health academia and science to practical take-away messages. This series will be of interest for healthcare professional audiences of all disciplines as well as those working in probation and parole, and legal service fields, as well as people who are interested in what’s happening at the intersection of mental health and the law.
These regular news posts will provide short and condensed plain language summaries of our International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series talks and other academic pieces from the Forensic Psychiatry Institute.
The lecture series is produced by Drs. Gary Chaimowitz, Mini Mamak, Heather Moulden, and Sébastien Prat, and Knowledge Translation Specialist Diana Marginean. From Academia to Practice is produced by Virginia St-Denis and Diana Maginean.
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— use that information”
(ISO 24495-1:2023 Plain language — Part 1: Governing principles and guidelines).
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Confirmation Bias: What It Is and How to Avoid It
Confirmation bias can lead mental health professionals to find information that confirms their beliefs, overlook evidence that contradicts their beliefs, and fail to look for evidence that challenges their beliefs. For mental health professionals conducting forensic evaluations, this bias can lead to incorrect conclusions. The consequences can change the lives of people who have been charged with a crime, says Dr. Phillip J. Resnick in a presentation for the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series.Continue reading→
Assessing and Treating Mental Illness in First Responders
Mental health professionals assessing or treating first responders with mental illness should understand public safety jobs. This understanding can help professionals make accurate assessments and treatment plans that are meaningful, effective, and appropriate, said Dr. Krystle Martin in a presentation for the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series. First responders, also called public safety personnel, work in a variety of jobs. Among these jobs are police, paramedics, firefighters, military personnel, and corrections officers, as well as communications personnel and dispatchers for these services.Continue reading→
Mental Health in Federal Corrections From the Correctional Investigator’s Perspective
The ombudsman’s office for Canada’s correctional system has repeatedly identified serious problems with mental health care in its penitentiaries. However, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) has not implemented most recommendations for addressing the root causes of those problems. Dr. Ivan Zinger was the speaker during a December 2026 session of the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series. He discussed his most recent annual report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI), covering the 2024–25 fiscal year, which the OCI released weeks earlier. “While we have achieved significant success in resolving individual complaints, many of our recommendations for systemic reform have too often been disregarded or dismissed by” Correctional Service Canada (CSC), Dr. Zinger wrote in that report.Continue reading→
The Fatal Nexus Between Incarceration and Mental Health: The Tragic Story of Soleiman Faqiri
People with mental health challenges should not be in correctional facilities. It seems so simple, but it can be a matter of life and death. This issue became the focus of Yusuf Faqiri’s advocacy work after his younger brother, Soleiman, was arrested during an episode of schizophrenia and died in an Ontario correctional facility.Continue reading→
Performance Validity Testing for People with Low Intellectual Functioning
Performance validity tests (PVTs) are psychological measures designed to assess whether a person may be putting little effort during cognitive testing and feigning poor performance. People with low IQ often score poorly on PVTs, as these measures were not created for or validated on people with low IQ. Thus, they are often falsely classified by PVTs as feigning when they are, in fact, providing genuine effort. Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists can avoid misinterpreting PVT results by being aware of how people with low IQ may respond during testing and how their scores may be affected by their disability.Continue reading→
Personality Disorders: Better Understanding Can Lead to Better Assessments
Mental health professionals can experience difficulties assessing people with personality disorders because of their own emotional reactions and stigma. But mental health professionals can improve their examinations of this population through better preparation.Continue reading→
Mental Resilience Among Forensic Professionals
Most forensic mental health professionals specifically choose this field and tend to stay in it. The work is rewarding and can make a real difference for patients. However, these professionals face unique stressors that can challenge their own mental well-being. Recent research highlights the fundamental importance of building and protecting the mental resilience of forensic mental health professionals. Understanding the challenges they face is the essential first step. For example, it is becoming clear that the trauma-informed care and environment that are crucial for patients in the criminal justice system are equally important for the professionals who work with them.Continue reading→
Firesetting: An Overlooked Issue in Forensic Mental Health
Setting fires is often ignored in forensic mental health, but it should not be. Many people who set fires intentionally have mental disorders, and the fires they set can have deadly results. In their presentation for the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series, Drs. Renée Sorrentino, Susan Hatters Friedman, and Lawrence Belcher said forensic psychiatry education and knowledge about firesetting behaviour are lacking, although that is changing. Forensic psychiatrists should be aware of the risk factors, assessment, and treatment for people who set fires, so they can plan appropriate treatment for this population.Continue reading→
Sexual Consent in the Digital World
With nearly three-quarters of the world’s population being online in 2025, the internet has become increasingly important for creating and maintaining social interactions. While technology is often credited with making life easier, when it comes to sexual consent, it introduces new complications. PhD Candidate Rebecca Fisico, Dr. Margaret McKinnon, and Dr. Heather Moulden recently published a narrative review to examine how technology may be reshaping sexual consent. They suggest updating sex education using principle- and ethics-based approaches and educating adults as well as children and teens.Continue reading→
The Power of Forgiveness
Violence caused by mental illness has two sides: the random act suffered by the person who experienced the violence and the person with a mental illness who did not have the mental capacity to form criminal intent. Both sides are real. Both sides are relevant. And for both sides, it can feel impossible to move past the event. However, when mental illness causes violence without intent, healing becomes easier. If each side understands what happened, forgiveness (including self-forgiveness) can help them let go of their anger, accept what happened, and heal enough to enjoy life again.Continue reading→