Objective: To canvass the opinions of psychiatrists working in forensic settings on the definition of forensic patient and treatablity.
Method: A questionnaire was circulated. Respondents were asked to define forensic patient, associated social dangerousness with mental health and involvement with judicial system.
Results: Forty-eight (44%) of the 109 respondents attempted to define forensic patient. Only 54% considered forensic patient in general as treatable.
Conclusions: Most of the psychiatrists failed to agree on a mutual definition and tended to include forensic issues when attempting to define the forensic patient. Furthermore a significant minority believe that forensic patients can benefit from treatment. This has important implications, both for the general education of psychiatrist and for forensic psychiatry. (Rawal Med J 2004;29:68-70)
Key words: Forensic, psychiatric, aggression
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