Ethics and the Treatment of the Mentally Ill, Homeless Person: a Perspective on Psychiatry Resident Training

Objective The authors outline the unique ethical challenges that psychiatry residents face in working with individuals who are homeless and mentally ill. The authors also propose steps to develop effective teaching methods with residents working with these patients. Methods The authors reviewed literature relevant to the training of psychiatry residents in ethics and treating individuals who are homeless and mentally ill. Results The authors summarize current literature and, with the use of case examples, provide guidelines for effective teaching. Conclusions Teaching psychiatry residents who are working in the community with individuals who are mentally ill and homeless needs to address a number of unique ethical conflicts that arise in this area. The authors outline approaches to this teaching.