12th Forensic Mental Health Conference was completed

Last weekend, the 12th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society of Forensic Mental Health was performed in Chiba University. I participated in this conference, and also be engaged as a staff.

The 12th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society of Forensic Mental Health

Japanese Society of Forensic Mental Health established just one decade ago. Forensic mental health itself has not been recognized as a specialty of psychiatry in Japan. The society has devoted to shedding the light on the importance of forensic mental health.

The main theme of this conference is “diversity and perspective of forensic mental health.” Based on this concept, we held three symposiums. They contained the evaluation of mental capacity, reintegration into the society for mentally disordered offenders, and forensic mental health in correctional settings in and community.

The other days, the center of discussion in forensic mental health in Japan was criminal responsibility and how to evaluate it in psychiatric evidence. However, we are aware of many other points we should address as a professional. I believe this conference could suggest the wideness of forensic mental health.

There were more than 300 people participated in the conference. I appreciated the contribution of all participants. It was very fortunate that there were no troubles in the management of the whole conference.

It is a little sorry that I felt discussion was not activated so much in some symposiums. In the session I took the role of chairman, only some questions were presented by the audience. In such a big conference, participants tend to hesitate to make a query, especially in Japanese. I hope to ignite constructive discussion in the next opportunity.