Susan Hatters-Friedman, the Phillip J. Resnick Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, chief of the Forensic Psychiatry program at University Hospitals and a member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry’s (GAP) Committee on Psychiatry & Law, received the 2020 Manfred S. Guttmacher Award from the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL) and the APA Foundation.
The award, established in 1975, recognizes an outstanding contribution to the literature of forensic psychiatry. Friedman received the award for editing the book Family Murder: Pathologies of Love and Hate, which was written by members of the GAP Committee on Psychiatry & Law, on which she served as chair.
Drawing on real-life cases as well as research data, Family Murder: Pathologies of Love and Hate distills the psychiatric knowledge of different forms of murder within the family. Although crimes of this sort have made headlines for decades—and although violence and homicide within the family are public health issues—little guidance exists in the research literature for mental health professionals who treat these families or for child protection workers and lawyers who interact with them.
The award and an affiliated lecture were presented at the APA’s 2020 annual meeting.
Friedman is also a professor of reproductive biology, pediatrics, and adjunct professor of law. Previously, for seven years, she and her family worked overseas in New Zealand. Friedman has served as vice-president of AAPL and as chair of GAP’s law and psychiatry committee.