Mental Health, Justice, and “Not Criminally Responsible"

This course is based on "Shrunk, Crime and Disorders of the Mind," a book in the Durvile True Cases Series that bridges mental health and the law. It will provide you with an understanding of the complex relationship between mental health and the justice system. We discuss ethical issues with an NCR defence, a typical day in Mental Health Court, and several specific cases of mental illness and NCR defences, presented by both legal and mental health experts.

The aim of this course is to gain a better understanding of the disturbed human psyche to help build a solution to the problem of mental illness in the criminal justice system. This course presents William Trudell's "Defending the Mentally Ill: There Must be More to the Story", Justice Richard D Schneider's "A Day in Mental Health Court", Dr. Barry Cooper & Jacqueline M. Kanipayor's "Not Criminally Responsible; Or Not", Dr. David Dawson's "Phil, Eddie and Margaret", and Dr. Jeffrey Waldman's "Vince Li".

We examine such issues as the ethics of presenting an NCR defence, the vital role of mental health professionals in the legal system, and the effects of difficult cases on the mental health of the legal and mental health experts involved.

This program contains 1 hour and 35 minutes of Professionalism Content and 2 Hours Substantive Content.