Norko Michael A
Dr. Norko is Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT and Director of Forensic Services for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Hartford, CT. A version of this paper was presented as the Presidential Address at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Denver, CO, 2017. Dr. Norko is involved in the editorial leadership of the Journal. However, he did not participate in any aspect of this article's review and acceptance. Dr. Norko acknowledges the support of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2018 Mar;46(1):10-22.
The search for truth is a foundational aim and value of forensic psychiatry. It is also a deeply spiritual exercise. It must, therefore, be possible to describe a spirituality of forensic psychiatry, which I attempt to begin in this article. This exploration opens with a discussion of spirituality and its contexts. I then examine the nature of vocation in its application to medicine, psychiatry and the law. This proceeds to a close evaluation of the attitudes and activities that I will argue occupy the groundwork of forensic practice and form pathways to truth: presence, empathy, compassion, and centering. I then examine some of the forces that harm the expression of truth in the courtroom, and the means for healing those injuries. Concern for the common good, an integral part of my own spirituality, arises repeatedly in this discussion. I conclude with thoughts on the search for truth, in our work and in ourselves, and an invitation to colleagues to imagine forensic psychiatry as a spiritual practice. My hope is that this endeavor will stimulate reflection among forensic clinicians and encourage further inquiry and explication.
