Forensic Mental Health

Catalog description

An interdisciplinary exploration of the intersection of the mental health and criminal justice systems in the United States. The primary theme is the deinstitutionalization movement which has resulted in the shifting of persons with mental illness from hospitals into correctional facilities. Important topics include school-to-prison pipeline (STPP), civil and outpatient commitment, police as first responders, training for law enforcement responding to crisis situations, and other efforts to decrease criminalization and stigmatization, such as Crisis Intervention Teams, Mental Health Courts, Assertive Community Treatment, and reentry strategies. Students are expected to engage in innovative policy solutions through a multi-disciplinary lens, which may include strategies based on developments in the fields of criminal justice, medicine and forensic psychiatry, counseling and psychology, social work, education, and public administration.