Another Mass Murder Spurs Many Responses

Almost two weeks ago, it happened again:a man with a history of psychiatric symptoms opened fire and killed people in the Fort Lauderdale airport.  In our book,Committed, we have researched and written about mental illness and violence, guns, and specifically addressed the question of Can Forced Psychiatric Care Prevent Mass Murders?Pete Earley, on his blog, offers the idea that it would help to change the standard for involuntary care from "dangerous" to "a need for treatment."  You can read Pete's blog,Another Mass Murder With Plenty of Warning Signs: We Need to Address the Dangerous Criteria.But ClinkShrink doesn't agree with Pete that the issue is one of who we force into care. She says we'd be safer if we took guns from people who exhibit dangerousbehaviors, not specific diagnoses. Pete's always up for a good debate, so he asked her to write about her ideas and posted them onDr. Hanson Offers A Different View About Mass Murder and The Dangerous Criteria.  I have my own thoughts on all of this.InClinical Psychiatry News, I wrote an article directed to mental health professionals inAnalyses of Fort Lauderdale Shooting Need a Resetand in the The Baltimore Sun, an Op Ed articleTragedy Again Spotlights Mental Illness.There have been so many articles by other people attributing mass murders to everything from terrorism to mental illness to guns to  psychiatric medications.  One that stirred me was an article in theSun-Sentinel by Congres...
Source: Shrink Rap - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: blogs