Psychology (PSYC) 395

Overview

Psychology 395: Forensic Psychology (PSYC 395) is a three-credit undergraduate course that will introduce students to the field of forensic psychology. The textbook for this course provides an accurate description of the practice of forensic psychology, and the American and Canadian legal parameters that govern that practice. PSYC 395 covers a wide range of topics that are presented in four parts: I) a brief overview of the field; II) general considerations; III) Criminal Court applications; and IV) Civil and Family Court applications.

Parts I and II provide foundational knowledge, while Parts III and IV focus on psychological assessments in criminal and civil courts. The introductory chapter includes a brief historical overview of clinical forensic psychology, from its academic origins to its challenging relationship with psychiatry. Chapter 1 also includes a clear definition of the field of clinical forensic psychology. This definition draws on the American Psychological Association’s criteria for conferring specialty practice status on sub-disciplines and speaks directly to the ongoing debate regarding narrow versus broad definitions of forensic psychology. Ultimately, clinical forensic psychology is identified as a distinct area of clinical practice focused on matters of direct relevance to the justice system.

Part II reviews psychology’s relationship with the Law, including paradigm conflicts, expertise under the Law, and the ultimate issue problem. The foundations of forensic mental health assessment, including an influential conceptual model, are also reviewed in some detail. This conceptual model provides a framework for many of the clinical activities described in Parts III and IV. The section closes with a detailed review of the principles of forensic mental health treatment.

In Parts III and IV, the focus narrows onto clinical activities in civil, criminal, and family court contexts. Part III is concerned exclusively with the criminal justice system. This section opens with a detailed look at risk assessment, including a critical review of existing risk assessment practices. This is followed by chapters that discuss adjudicative competence (fitness for trial), criminal responsibility (insanity), and sentencing evaluations; as well as issues associated with the special populations of juvenile, female, and sexual offenders. In Part IV, the focus shifts to Civil and Family Court issues, with chapters covering psychological injury assessments, civil competency evaluations, parenting capacity, and child custody assessments.

Outline

PSYC 395 is divided into twelve units, organized in four parts:

Part I: Overview of the Field

• Unit 1: Introduction

Part II: General Considerations

• Unit 2: Psychology and the Law
• Unit 3: Forensic Mental Health Assessment
• Unit 4: Principles of Forensic Treatment

Part III: Criminal Court Applications

• Unit 5: Risk Assessment
• Unit 6: Adjudicative Competence
• Unit 7: Criminal Responsibility
• Unit 8: Sentencing
• Unit 9: Special Populations

Part IV: Civil and Family Court Applications

• Unit 10: Psychological Injury Evaluations
• Unit 11: Civil Competencies and Civil Commitment
• Unit 12: Parenting Capacity and Child Custody Assessments

Evaluation

To receive credit for PSYC 395, students must complete and submit all unit quizzes and the written assignment. Students must achieve an overall grade of at least D (50 percent) for the course.

There are 12 unit quizzes, each of which consists of 14 multiple choice and / or true–false questions, and contributes 7% to the final grade. Students will have a single opportunity to complete each unit quiz. No re-writing of unit quizzes will be allowed, and a missed quiz will result in a grade of zero for that unit. All unit quizzes are closed book, meaning that students are not allowed to consult any materials while writing the quizzes.

The written assignment will contribute the remaining 16% of the final grade. The topic for the written assignment must be approved by the tutor before beginning the assignment. Failure to secure approval from the tutor might result in the rejection of the paper.

Students will be evaluated on their understanding of the concepts presented in the course and on their ability to apply those concepts. The final grade in the course will be based on the marks achieved for the following activities.

Activity	Weight
Unit Quizzes	84%
Written Assignment	16%
Total	100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.

Materials

Physical course materials

The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:

Nesca, M. (2022). Clinical forensic psychology: An Introduction. Cognella.

Other Resources

All other materials are online.

Challenge for credit

Overview

The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.

Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Evaluation

To receive credit for the PSYC 395 challenge registration, students must complete all course requirements (i.e., all quizzes and the written assignment) and achieve an overall grade of at least 50%.

Activity	Weight
Unit Quizzes	84%
Written Assignment	16%
Total	100%

Challenge for credit course registration form

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