Dr. Michael Beech is a highly accomplished Forensic Psychiatrist based in Brisbane, specialising in independent medico-legal assessments and reports in both criminal and civil matters. Dr. Beech serves as a trusted consultant to the courts.
Dr Michael Beech
Psychiatrist
Dr Beech graduated from the University of Queensland in 1979 with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery. He worked in North Queensland and was the Medical Superintendent of the Ingham Hospital before he commenced training in psychiatry in 1990. He obtained Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1995 together with Membership of the Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists in 1996. His RANZCP Fellowship dissertation was a comparison study of inpatient adolescents and incarcerated delinquents.
From 1996 to 2001 he was the Director of Child Psychiatry at the Mater Children’s Hospital and Director of the South Brisbane Child and Youth Mental Health Service. Since 2002 he has been in private practice and he was the Director of Medical Services at the Toowong Private Hospital, a 54-bed private adult mental health hospital until 2016. Since 2014 he has focussed on medico-legal work but he also maintains a clinical practice.
He is a foundation and accredited member of the Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry of the RANZCP and an accredited member of the Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is also a member of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, and a member of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.
Since 2002, he has regularly prepared reports on people referred by the courts and legal practitioners in relation to issues around criminal responsibility, unsoundness of mind, and fitness for trial. He also assesses people for the purpose of pre-sentence reports and bail applications. He has extensive experience in the preparation of reports for civil matters including civil compensation claims arising out of personal injuries and accidents and he has significant experience in the assessment of psychological injuries arising from institutional abuse. Since 2005, he has regularly prepared reports in relation to the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 matters. He has extensive experience in giving expert testimony in court.
Dr Beech has had training in the SVR-20, STATIC99-R, RSVP, HCR-20, STABLE-2007 and the ACUTE, the ARMIDILLO, the Violence Risk Scale, and the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, as well as the PIRS, GEPI and the GEPIC.