Special perspective an immodest proposal: Should treating mental health professionals be barred from testifying about their patients?

Notwithstanding ethical rules that address therapeutic and forensic role co nflicts for psychologists and psychiatrists, overzealous patient advocacy b y therapists, tightened reimbursement for therapy, and a growth market for forensic psychology and psychiatry, have led many therapists to appear will ingly as forensic experts on behalf of their patients. Existing ethical rul es, as well as other proposed approaches to address this problem, assume th at it can be resolved by modest changes in existing practice that permit th erapists to testify as long as their testimony avoids psycholegal opinions. This essay questions whether these modest changes can adequately address t his problem and advances consideration of a more radical proposal to addres s this problem, prohibiting therapists from testifying about their patients . (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.