Introduction; Prison Psychiatry (Norbert Konrad) -- Ethics within the Prison System (Helmut Pollähne) -- Ethical Issues in Correctional Psychiatry in the United States (Henry Dlugacz Julie Y. Low, Christopher Wimmer and Lisa Knox) -- The Evolution of Punishment and Incarceration (George B. Palermo) -- Forensic Research With The Mentally Disordered Offender (Julio Arboleda-Flórez and  David Weisstub) -- Special problems in different countries -- Ethical issues in Australian prison psychiatry (Danny Sullivan) -- Penitentiary mental health care in Belgium (Paul Cosyns and Kris Goethals) -- Ethical Issues in Prison Psychiatry: Forensic mental health care in Brazil (José G. V. Taborda, Lisieux E. de B. Telles, Maurício Cardoso, Helena D.C.Bins) -- Psychiatric treatment in the detention systems of Quebec, trying to merge carceral and therapeutic cultures (Jocelyne Aubut, Jean-Luc Dubreucq, Marie-Hélène Régnier) -- Ethical issues in German Prison Psychiatry  (Norbert Konrad) -- Mentally ill prisoners: Indian perspective (Siva Nambi, Janannathan Srinivasaraghavan) -- Ethical Issues in Prison Psychiatry in Israel (Jacob Margolin, Moshe Birger, Eliezer Witztum) -- Current status of prison psychiatry and its relationship with general psychiatry in Japan (Yoji Nakatani, Osamu Kuroda) -- Overcrowded Prisons And Low Psychiatric Provision: The Situation Of Mentally Ill Prisoners In Kenya  (David Ndetai and  Muthoni Mathai) -- Ethical Problems of Forensic and Prison Psychiatry in Latvia (Māris Taube) -- Ethical Issues in Prison Psychiatry in the Netherlands (E.D.M. Masthoff,  B.H. Bulten) -- Ethical isues in prison psychiatry in România (Nicoleta Tătaru) -- Ethical issues of mental health care in the Slovene prison system (Vita Poštuvan, Tanja Madjar) -- Quality and ethical problems of mental health services in prisons in Spain (Luis Fernando Barrios Flores & Francisco Torres-Gonzáles) -- Ethical isues in prison psychiatry in Sweden (Orsolya Hoffmann, Lennart Mossberg) -- Prison psychiatry in Switzerland (Marc Graf) -- Current ethical challenges in prison psychiatry in England & Wales (Adarsh Kaul, Birgit Völlm) -- Application of the AMA Code of Medical Ethics to Psychiatric Practice in Correctional Facilities and Access to Psychiatric Care in the U.S.A. (Alan R. Felthous) -- Conclusion (Norbert Konrad, Birgit Völlm and David Weisstub).

Recent surveys demonstrate a high and possibly increasing prevalence of mental disorders in prisoners. They have an increased risk of suffering from a mental disorder that transcends countries and diagnoses. Ethical dilemmas in prison psychiatry arise from resource allocation and include issues of patient choice and autonomy in an inherently coercive environment. Ethical conflicts may arise from the dual role of forensic psychiatrists giving raise to tensions between patient care/protection of the public.This book describes models and ethical issues of psychiatric healthcare in prison in several countries. Relevant issues are: the professional medical role of a psychiatrist and/or psychotherapist working in prison, the involvement of psychiatrists in disciplinary or coercive measures; consent to treatment, the use of coercion in forcing a prisoner to undergo treatment, hunger strike, confidentiality. The book ends with consensus guidelines concerning good practice in Prison Psychiatry.