Understanding Forensic Mental Health and the Variety of Professional Voices

The aim of this chapter is not to rehearse or summarise all the issues that will be presented in this book, but to try to set the scene by painting with a broad brush. What is forensic mental health? Where is it ‘done’? When is it done? By whom is it done and onto whom? And finally, and most crucially, how can we develop an understanding of the issues?