Prof. Bernadette McSherry
Biography:
Bernadette McSherry is Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Melbourne and a Commissioner with the Victorian Law Reform Commission. She has a BA(Hons), LLB(Hons), LLM from the University of Melbourne, a PhD from York University in Canada and a Grad Dip Psych from Monash University. She is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. A previous President of the Victorian and transnational ANZAPPL committees, she has also served as a Commissioner with the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
Michael Davis is a Forensic and Clinical Psychologist in full-time private practice. He is the Victorian Branch Chair and National Chair of the APS College of Forensic Psychologists. Dr Davis has adjunct appointments at Swinburne, Monash, and Melbourne Universities and is a consultant to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare). He is an elected member of the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship. Dr Davis also serves as an Instructor to the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling.
Andrew Carroll is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and Deputy Chief Psychiatrist (Forensic Mental Health) with the Victorian Department of Health. With colleague Brett Bridges, he established Our Curious Minds, a mental health training and consultancy company focused on recovery-oriented risk management, decision-making, complexity and trauma. His medicolegal assessment work includes report writing in both civil and criminal jurisdictions (see thepsychiatryexpert.com).
Shelley Turner is Executive Director, Hospital Operations at Forensicare, the state-wide provider of forensic mental health in Victoria. Shelley holds senior adjunct academic appointments with the Department of Social Work at Monash University and the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science at Swinburne University. Shelley has extensive expertise in youth justice and was the clinical manager of Australia's first youth drug and alcohol court program. Her research and published scholarly works focus on lived experience and effective and ethical forensic practice.
Tobias Mackinnon is Executive Director Forensic Mental Health at Forensicare, the state-wide provider of forensic mental health in Victoria. He is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and holds a senior lecturer conjoint appointment with the University of New South Wales. Dr Mackinnon has extensive experience in Forensic Mental Health leadership, systems and practice. His research has centred around the service delivery of forensic mental health systems.
Abstract:
How we conceptualise and manage risk varies according to discipline and is often value-laden. This symposium brings together presenters with backgrounds in psychiatry, psychology, law and social work to critically examine the state of current risk assessment practices. Although a focus will be on assessing the risk of future harm in a forensic context, particularly in relation to predicting future terrorism, this symposium will pose the wider question as to how best to navigate the tensions that may arise between legal and health frameworks, while preserving ethical obligations to respect the humanity, dignity and autonomy of often marginalised individuals.