Psych · Forensic psychiatry — stalking and harassment
Stalking and harassment
Also known as Stalking risk assessment · Obsessional harassment · Mullen typology stalkers · RECON stalking typology · Cyberstalking forensic · Erotomania and stalking · Intimate partner stalking · Stalking Risk Profile · Harassment psychiatry · Victim impact stalking
Exam-exhaustive fellowship reference on stalking and harassment for forensic psychiatry — legal vs clinical constructs; Mullen and RECON typologies; epidemiology and victim harm; multi-domain risk (violence, persistence, recurrence, psychosocial damage); multi-source assessment; management of stalker and victim safety; psychosis/erotomania interface; duty-to-protect principles; ethics. Non-sensational. FRANZCP-primary, globally tagged.
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Target exams
Red flags
- Ex-intimate stalker with ongoing access, threats, weapons, or order breaches — high-acuity multi-domain risk; prioritise victim safety and containment
- Credible plan to assault a named person with means and short time horizon — treat as protective emergency (contain, treat, multi-agency notify per local law)
- Psychotic erotomanic or jealous conviction with approaches to a specific target — do not rely on verbal reassurance alone
- Escalation after legal setback, rejection cue, or blocked contact (including cyber escalation) — reassess violence and persistence risk
- Clinician or staff as target — institutional security pathway; transfer dual-role conflicts; document
- Victim isolation, severe PTSD/depression, or suicidal ideation secondary to stalking — parallel victim mental health pathway
Meet the patient
A 34-year-old man is referred by his solicitor after his third breach of a protection order taken out by his ex-partner. There is a shared five-year-old child. He tells you, calm and rehearsed, that he "just wants to talk to her one more time". Police summary: 200 texts in a weekend, a tracker on her car, a knife confiscated at handover. He drinks. He is not psychotic.[6][7][1]
The examiner's two live questions at that assessment: "What is the dominant typology, and which risk domain hurts her first?" and "What do you do today that does not depend on him agreeing?" This topic is the answer to both.[7][19]
References22ShowHide
- [1]Mullen PE, Pathé M, Purcell R, et al. Study of stalkers Am J Psychiatry, 1999.PMID 10450267
- [2]Pathé M, Mullen PE The impact of stalkers on their victims Br J Psychiatry, 1997.PMID 9068768
- [3]Purcell R, Pathé M, Mullen PE The prevalence and nature of stalking in the Australian community Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2002.PMID 11929447
- [4]Dressing H, Kuehner C, Gass P Lifetime prevalence and impact of stalking in a European population: epidemiological data from a middle-sized German city Br J Psychiatry, 2005.PMID 16055829
- [5]McEwan TE, Mullen PE, MacKenzie R A study of the predictors of persistence in stalking situations Law Hum Behav, 2009.PMID 18626757
- [6]McEwan TE, Mullen PE, MacKenzie RD, et al. Violence in stalking situations Psychol Med, 2009.PMID 19215627
- [7]Mullen PE, Mackenzie R, Ogloff JR, et al. Assessing and managing the risks in the stalking situation J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, 2006.PMID 17185471
- [8]McEwan T, Mullen PE, Purcell R Identifying risk factors in stalking: a review of current research Int J Law Psychiatry, 2007.PMID 17157379
- [9]Mohandie K, Meloy JR, McGowan MG, et al. The RECON typology of stalking: reliability and validity based upon a large sample of North American stalkers J Forensic Sci, 2006.PMID 16423242
- [10]Zona MA, Sharma KK, Lane J A comparative study of erotomanic and obsessional subjects in a forensic sample J Forensic Sci, 1993.PMID 8355005
- [11]Purcell R, Pathé M, Mullen PE A study of women who stalk Am J Psychiatry, 2001.PMID 11729025
- [12]Mullen PE, Pathé M, Purcell R Stalking: new constructions of human behaviour Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2001.PMID 11270463
- [13]Sheridan LP, Blaauw E, Davies GM Stalking: knowns and unknowns Trauma Violence Abuse, 2003.PMID 14697120
- [14]Purcell R, Pathé M, Mullen PE Association between stalking victimisation and psychiatric morbidity in a random community sample Br J Psychiatry, 2005.PMID 16260815
- [15]McEwan TE, Shea DE, Daffern M, et al. The Reliability and Predictive Validity of the Stalking Risk Profile Assessment, 2018.PMID 27305931
- [16]Rosenfeld B, Galietta M, Foellmi M, et al. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for the treatment of stalking offenders: A randomized controlled study Law Hum Behav, 2019.PMID 31204832
- [17]Kienlen KK, Birmingham DL, Solberg KB, et al. A comparative study of psychotic and nonpsychotic stalking J Am Acad Psychiatry Law, 1997.PMID 9323658
- [18]Pathé M, Mullen PE, Purcell R Stalking: false claims of victimisation Br J Psychiatry, 1999.PMID 10211173
- [19]Appelbaum PS Tarasoff and the clinician: problems in fulfilling the duty to protect Am J Psychiatry, 1985.PMID 3976915
- [20]Large MM, Ryan CJ, Nielssen OB Helpful and unhelpful risk assessment practices Psychiatr Serv, 2010.PMID 20439381
- [21]Fazel S, Singh JP, Doll H, et al. Use of risk assessment instruments to predict violence and antisocial behaviour in 73 samples involving 24 827 people: systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ, 2012.PMID 22833604
- [22]Buchanan A Risk of violence by psychiatric patients: beyond the "actuarial versus clinical" assessment debate Psychiatr Serv, 2008.PMID 18245161