Join us on Saturday 13 October for a one-day symposium for mental health professionals and lawyers exploring the topic Ice, Psychosis and Criminal Responsibility. Presented by the RANZCP Faculties of Addiction Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry, in collaboration with ANZAPPL (Vic), the program will feature prominent speakers discussing recent high-profile cases throughout Australia and New Zealand that have highlighted the impact of methamphetamine (‘ice’) use on mental health and violent offending. Speakers Dr Jon Adams Saul Holt QC Professor Dan Lubman Dr Jamie Walvisch The four expert legal and psychiatric speakers will explore the relevant issues in depth, including: The complexity of diagnosis in the context of methamphetamine use Current evidence-based treatment approaches for methamphetamine use The possible role of the ‘mental impairment’ (“insanity”) defense Ethical, policy and legal issues around mitigation of criminal responsibility when methamphetamine use is involved in alleged offending.

The ACT is currently examining law and clinical practice in the ACT for death and dying. This is a challenging area for practitioners and policy makers with competing ethical principles and strong emotions for all involved. Palliative Care ACT and ANZAPPL ACT invite you to join us for a full day workshop with Australian experts in the intersecting areas of Law, Mental Health and Palliative Care to examine the key issues for the ACT moving forward. We encourage you to contribute to the conversation about legal and clinical practice in the ACT. Through these workshops convenors will collate key thematic issues for three focussed streams; The Law, Mental Health and Palliative Care Practice. Keynote Speakers Include: Dr Wendy Bonython, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Dr David Kissane, Professor of Psychiatry, Monash Health Dr Danielle Ko, Lawyer, GP, Clinical & Engagement Lead, Quality & Patient Safety, Austin Health Prof Paul Komesaroff (MC), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University Workshop Schedule: In the morning we will hear from our three invited experts to present their views on the contemporary Legal, Mental Health and Palliative Care practice in the light of current policy and public debate about voluntary euthanasia. Professor Komesaroff will convene our morning session highlighting overlapping challenges and ethical considerations across the intersecting professional fields. After lunch participants will be invited to join in one of three concurrent breakout workshops with our three invited experts joining special guest contributors from the ACT. Who should attend: Mental health, legal and palliative care personnel who have been involved in considering the implications of assisted dying in the ACT.

We are privileged to have two distinguished speakers in this area who will deliver individual talks and facilitate a joint Q & A session on this topic. Discussions will cover areas such as challenges to drug laws, alternative approaches, what works, the effects of criminalising drugs. Speakers Dr Alex Wodak Dr Alex Wodak AM, President of the Australia Drug Law Reform Foundation, is an Emeritus Consultant at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, where he was Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service from 1982 until he retired in 2012. He became interested in drug law reform in the 1980s while actively advocating for the establishment of needle syringe programs to reduce the spread of HIV among and from people who inject drugs which was vigorously opposed by supporters of drug prohibition. Dr Caitlin Hughes Dr Hughes is a criminologist and Senior Research Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. She works as part of the multi-disciplinary Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) which seeks to improve Australian drug policy by identifying what works, translating research evidence and engaging directly with policy makers. Dr Hughes' prime focus is improving understanding of the effects of different legislative regimes and law enforcement approaches, and the role of law enforcement relative to other aspects of drug policy. Projects include: the impacts of the Portuguese decriminalisation of illicit drug use; mapping out police and criminal justice diversionary policies throughout Australia; identifying optimum policing responses for responding to MDMA and determining legal thresholds for serious drug trafficking offences. Projects have often been undertaken in collaboration with Australian policy makers, including Queensland Health and Police, NSW Police and the ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety, or international organisations, including the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Other interests include analysing the policy processes by which drug policy reform occurs.

Sentencing of mentally disordered offenders raises unique challenges for the Criminal Justice System. Dr Jamie Walvisch brings his expertise on this area to Canberra for this valuable learning opportunity sharing learning from his PhD thesis Sentencing Offenders with Mental Illnesses: A Principled Approach, which examines the circumstances in which mental illnesses should be taken into account when sentencing on offender who is convicted of a serious crime. Branch Members are invited to attend our AGM prior to the seminar starting at 5:30pm. New members are welcome. Nominations are available for committee positions.

The intersection of law and mental health raises complex issues. The justice system relies on the expertise of mental health professionals to make decisions about the culpability, punishment and detention of people with experience mental illness or a cognitive impairment. Professor Paul Mullen will reflect on the his extensive experience and contribution to the Harper review to reflect on the ethical and practical problems this raises for mental health professionals. 5.15pm: Registration and canapes 5.30pm: Annual General Meeting (all members invited) 6.00pm: Presentation 7.00pm: Questions Speaker Paul Mullen is Professor Emeritus at Monash University. Previously he had been a consultant at the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospitals, Professor of Psychological Medicine in Dunedin, and Professor/Director of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Psychiatry which provides the forensic mental health services to the State, including secure hospital and community services. Professor Mullen has been an active researcher throughout his long career, publishing over 200 papers in refereed journals, some 60 chapters in textbooks, and co-authoring books on child sexual abuse, jealousy, and stalking. His research interests have included, the long term impact of child sexual abuse, stalking, jealousy, the relationship between psychosis and criminal behaviours, assessing and managing the threat to politicians and heads of state, as well as querulous behaviour. Clinically he has been involved for many years in assessing and managing mentally abnormal offenders. He has assessed a number of lone actor mass killers including some claiming to be politically motivated. He has also evaluated members of terrorist groups including at Guantanamo Bay.

The Victorian ANZAPPL Committee warmly invites all to our 2017 Annual Lecture. Speaker Justice Coate is a Judge of the Family Court of Australia, and was appointed to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on 11 January 2013. Prior to this, she held a number of appointments, including Judge of the County Court of Victoria, State Coroner of Victoria, the inaugural President of the Children’s Court of Victoria and Senior Magistrate and Magistrate of the Magistrate’s Court of Victoria. During her time as President of the Children’s Court of Victoria, Commissioner Coate oversaw the establishment of the Children’s Koori Court. Justice Coate has also worked as a part-time Law Reform Commissioner, a solicitor in private practice, a solicitor for the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria and in policy and research for the Victorian Government.

In 1973, the term Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was first used to describe the characteristic facial anomalies and poor prenatal and/or postnatal growth and subsequent developmental and learning problems exhibited by children of mothers who had used alcohol during their pregnancy. After it was recognised that alcohol exposure in utero may result in a constellation of neuro-developmental problems in the absence of facial and other physical features, the term Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) was introduced in 2003. Subsequently, a number of different diagnostic algorithms have been postulated to facilitate the diagnosis. There is a disproportionate prevalence of FASD within youth justice systems. Youths with FASD in Canada have been found to be 19 times more likely to be incarcerated than youths without FASD. In 2015, the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Research Network of Canada published diagnostic guidelines. In 2016, the Australian Guide to the Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder was promulgated. Emphasising that alcohol is teratogenic and that no level of maternal consumption is ‘safe’ for the developing foetus, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia currently advises that the safest option for women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy is to avoid alcohol. The diagnosis of FASD is crucial to improving outcomes for those affected and to inform pre-pregnancy counselling. Across various jurisdictions in the world, there is considerable impetus towards identifying individuals with FASD. Full program guide [PDF] View Powerpoint of Heather Douglas [PDF] View Powerpoint of Janet Hammill [PDF] View Powerpoint of Vinesh Gupta [PDF] View Powerpoint of Paul White [PDF] View Powerpoint of Alan White [PDF] Presented by Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (ANZAPPL) (Queensland branch) and Queensland chapter, APS College of Forensic Psychologists in association with Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disabilities Services.

RANZCP Qld Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry & ANZAPPL Qld Branch Dinner Meeting ‘Ice’ (crystal methamphetamine) has been one of a number of alarming psychoactive drugs that has appeared in Australia. Violence and psychosis appears to be a common problem when people intoxicated with ice present to healthcare settings including hospital Emergency Departments. But the emergence of disturbing new drugs represent another indication that Australia’s policy of relying heavily on drug law enforcement is ineffective. While some consider ice to be uniquely problematic, Australia has come to accept substantial health, social and economic costs of other drugs. Reducing the health and other costs of ice should form part of a comprehensive strategy. The threshold step is redefining drugs as primarily a health and social problem, rather than a criminal justice problem, thereby enabling improved, properly funded drug treatment. Criminal sanctions for use and possession should be reduced or eliminated. Notwithstanding the difficulties of implementation, the black market should be undermined as much as possible by a legal market. Dr Alex Wodak AM was the Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney from 1982 until he retired in 2012 and was instrumental in establishing Australia’s first needle syringe programme in 1987 (to slow the spread of HIV) and in 1999 Australia’s first medically-supervised injecting centre when both were (pre-legal). Dr Wodak was the Foundation President of the International Harm Reduction Association (1996-2004) and helped establish the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (1987), the NSW Users AIDS Association (1989) and the Australian Society of HIV Medicine (1989). Dr Wodak is a Director of Australia 21 and is the President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation. His retirement project is drug law reform including promoting pill testing, a medicallysupervised injecting centre for Melbourne and a more sensible policy on electronic nicotine dispensing systems.

The Mental Health Act 2016 (Queensland) commenced in March 2017. It allows Magistrates to resolve a significant proportion of matters previously referred to the Mental Health Court. The Act thus places greater responsibility on lawyers appearing before Magistrates. In this workshop you will be able to observe and, if you choose, to participate in: A Panel discussion about Magistrates’ powers to determine fitness for trial; A Panel discussion about Court Liaison Officers and their reports; A Panel discussion about the clinical and legal issues relevant to fitness for trial; and A Moot where a barrister cross-examines an experienced forensic psychiatrist, acting in the role of a Court Liaison Officer or psychiatrist who has prepared a court report on fitness for trial, about a report on “fitness for trial”. Panel Dr Jane Phillips – psychiatrist, Court Liaison Service, Queensland Health; Dr Velimir Kovacevic, psychiatrist, Court Liaison Service, Queensland Health; Joseph Briggs, Counsel, LAQ; and Dr Russ Scott, psychiatrist, Prison Mental Health Service, Queensland Health

As radicalisation and recruitment of Australians appears to be increasing and violent extremists are reaching out to mentally vulnerable individuals, there is a clear role for mental health services in the evaluation and management of susceptible individuals. In the context of the changing milieu of mental health care and the importance of understanding the emergent risks to our patients, their families and the wider community, the symposium Mental Health, Extremism and Lone-Actor Grievance-Fuelled Violence brings together expert speakers from policing, forensic mental health and legal backgrounds. The symposium will inform delegates about the rise of extremism and terrorism and will also consider the phenomenon of lone-actor grievance-fuelled violence, including fixated attacks, hate killings, school shootings and workplace killings, and its relevance to mental health services. The symposium will also consider inter-agency approaches to countering violent extremism and present models for working with counter-terrorism agencies to improve the management of the mentally ill and enhance community safety. The symposium will also examine the Sydney Lindt Café siege, a compelling example of lone-actor, grievance-fuelled violence. As a jurisdiction recognised for its excellence and innovation in mental health/policing interventions, Queensland is well placed to host this important symposium. Speakers Current national security environment Insp Roger Lowe Intelligence, Counter-Terrorism & Major Events Command Queensland Police Service Man Haron Monis – Radicalised domestic terrorist? Dr Russ Scott Forensic Psychiatrist Queensland Health Pathways to radicalisation and domestic terrorism in Australia Prof Mark Kebbell School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University Australian Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security The fixated loner Adjunct Prof Michele Pathé Forensic Psychiatrist Queensland Police Service Lone-actor grievance-fuelled violence Adjunct Prof Michele Pathé Inter-agency information-sharing in the current climate Dr Andrew Aboud Forensic Psychiatrist Director, Prison Mental Health Service Queensland Health Preventive collaborative models for managing lone actors Adjunct Prof Michele Pathé Countering violent extremism Insp Peter Aitken Living Safe Together Intervention Program Queensland Police Service Domestic terrorism – Sovereign citizens Adjunct Prof Michele Pathé Narcissistic personality disorder, homicidality and risk identification Dr Ian Freckelton QC, Victoria Counsel for NSW Police, Lindt Café Inquest Dinner: Charismatic authority, coercive persuasion and the cult of personality: New religious movements and their dangers. Dr Ian Freckelton QC, Victoria

Fitness to plead raises unique challenges in our court system and for expert witnesses. In this first ANZAPPL ACT workshop for 2017, we will hear from our invited speakers: Assoc. Prof. Andrew Carroll, Forensic Psychiatrist Shane Drumgold, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (ACT) Our speakers will provide their expertise from both sides of the bench and we will provide ample time for questions from workshop participants.

Since 2007 John Flockton has worked with Corrective Services NSW as Clinical Director/Senior Specialist (Forensic) Psychologist at the High Risk Management Correctional Centre in Goulburn which houses extreme high security inmates including those convicted or remanded under Commonwealth and NSW anti-terrorism legislation. He has been an invited presenter to local and international forums including the Canadian Centre of Intelligence & Security Studies at Carleton University Ottawa Canada and British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology Conference in Cardiff Wales. His attendance at the Global Counterterrorism Forum sponsored ‘Closed Expert Meeting on the Role of Psychology in Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Violent Extremist Offenders’ in Abu Dhabi contributed to the development of ‘best practice’ guidelines applicable across multiple jurisdictions. John has worked as a development consultant and provided training in EV risk assessment through the DFAT funded capacity building project in Indonesia, and at regional security, intelligence and corrections conferences in the Philippines and Malaysia. He is a co-author of the Violent Extremist Risk Assessment (VERA) -2 & 2R which is being used both in Australia and internationally. His interest now is in confronting the complex challenges in risk assessment and management with a changing ‘terrorist’ profile and the progression of the threat and reality of local and internationally inspired extremist violence.

Cross-examination of child witnesses is often described as a “how not to” of child interviewing because it typically involves linguistically complex, leading, and confrontational questions. This presentation examines the effect of the cross-examination process on children’s testimony and considers some empirically based options for a way forward. Dr Rachel Zajac is a Senior Lecturer in the Psychology Department at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Her research encompasses children’s and adults’ eyewitness testimony, social influences on memory, and psychological factors in the interpretation of forensic evidence.

Presenter: Associate Professor Warrick Brewer, Consultant Neuropsychologist Objectives of this workshop include outlining: the neurobiological basis of healthy emotion generation; the impact of insult upon normal developmental trajectories and how to efficiently identify the timing and nature of the same; the means for efficient targeting of unmet emotional need arising from common threats to healthy development with a view to formulating appropriate management plans within the criminal justice system, and; emotional intelligence including recognition and articulation of the emotional self and structured self-identity. Price $30 students (full time only – proof required upon registration) $40 ANZAPPL members $70 non-members Morning tea supplied.

Technology means that many people are accessing indecent images of children. This poses a challenge for the legal system in deciding what should be done with these people. Mark will discuss some of the critical issues concerning what risk these people pose and how risks should be managed. Professor Mark Kebbell is an academic at Griffith University. He does research on investigative psychology, with a focus on the investigation and prosecution of serious crime.