1. Forensic Psychiatry Forensic psychiatrists work with criminal and civil cases and in other areas such as family and domestic relations law.

2. What do they do? Forensic psychiatrists work with criminal and civil cases and with family and domestic relations. They focus on issues such as a patients competency to stand trial and testify, assessment of mental illness, mental ability to refuse treatment, juvenile delinquency, parental fitness and a variety of other issues.

3. What kind of education is required? Psychiatrists are medical doctors that have gone through college, medical school and residency training. Many forensic psychiatrists also have two or more years of training in psychiatry-and-the-law. There is also an examination that can specially certify a person in forensic psychiatry.

4. Forensic psychiatrists may also function as expert witnesses and may assess a defendant for competency and ability to cooperate with his own defense Forensic psychiatrists may be employed in a private industry, by a city, county or state government, in a hospital or by the federal government. They may work in a state prison or hospital or have their own private practice.