MENTAL HEALTH LAW

Catalog description

May be used to satisfy the Writing Requirement. This course focuses on and interweaves analysis of several areas at the intersection of mental health and American law and policymaking. The course addresses the following substantive areas: (1) introduction to historical and contemporary notions of mental disorder and disability and the framework, functioning, and financing of current mental health system; (2) core legal aspects of the mental health treatment relationship (e.g., informed consent, confidentiality and privilege); (3) civil commitment and the movement between institution and community (e.g., shifts in commitment standards and patterns over time, mandated community treatment, availability of community services and the recent impact of litigation under the ADA); (4) mental health and the criminal justice system (e.g., mental health and the adjudicatory process, sentencing, mental health and the prison system, alternative courts); (5) child and adolescent mental health and the law (e.g., interrelationship of mental health issues with minors in the mental health, juvenile justice, child welfare, and educational systems; regulation of psychotropic medication use with minors); and (6) the future of mental health law and policy in the U.S. (examination and evaluation of a range of policy proposals, model programs and alternative approaches). The course is interdisciplinary, integrates analyses of law and policy across substantive areas, and addresses ethical challenges encountered by attorneys who represent persons with mental disorders in civil and criminal contexts.