Consultancy and advising in forensic practice: empirical and practical guidelines

Abstract

law, wrote the chapter on the use of pharmacotherapy. The chapter is thorough but there is a pervasive sense that it is not written as a medical appraisal of these interventions. It would have benefited from co-authorship by a (psycho)pharmacologist. Whilst acknowledging in their introduction that paedophilia is ultimately a clinical construct, the reader is left confused because the authors contradict this later. The book is described as essential reading for policy makers, those working in agencies with responsibility for sex offenders and students of criminology, psychology and sociology. As a forensic psychiatrist, I consider myself a lifelong student of the latter three subjects and agree that it is an interesting, well-researched and thorough text for that purpose. What it does not do is provide me with a practical guide to managing high-risk sex offenders under my care in the community. The book with the same title by Jackie Craissati is a successful alternative for this purpose.