Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Legal, Forensic and Correctional Psychology
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
Teaching staff
By email or on Moodle with the different teachers.
Appointments to be made with Dr Gómez-Durán by email: elgomez@uic.es
Introduction
The course introduces the student to Legal, Forensic and Penitentiary Psychology, showing both professional and research aspects.
We will address most important topics of our area: legal (patient autonomy, consent, professional responsibility ...), forensic (experts and expert reports at the court, imputability, victimology, credibility of the testimony, ...) and penitentiary (criminology, penitentiary treatment, ...).
We will address both psychologists' functions in their professional role within the Justice System, and the areas of research in the forensic field.
Pre-course requirements
Not required.
Objectives
By deepening the discipline of psychopathology applied to the forensic and judicial field, we aim for the student to acquire the fundamental competences at the Bachelor's level in forensic, legal and criminological matters applicable in the field of mental health and legal sciences, forensic and criminological.
Learning outcomes of the subject
Upon completing the course, the student will know the essential elements in forensic investigation, will know how to handle himself in accordance with current legal regulations, will understand essential legal aspects, will identify the most relevant criminological factors in human behavior and their approach in the prison environment, will know the psychopathological substrate and the criminal relevance of the different types of violence, as well as the characteristics of the aggressor and victim and the concept of imputability in the criminal sphere, he / she will know the procedures for modifying the capacity, the evaluation of parental capacities and the procedure of marriage annulment, as well as the essential aspects in the workplace. Finally, we will assess the alternative possibilities of conflict resolution. The student will know the legal framework and the criminological or prison scene The student will know, autonomously and as a team, guide a forensic evaluation, analyze the information obtained, use adequate bibliography to establish the application of theoretical knowledge to forensic practice, argue their position appropriately in content and form, as well as adapting communication to the judicial context and the specific demand.
Syllabus
1- Introduction to Legal, Forensic and Criminological Psychology. Research in Forensic Psychology (Dra. Gómez-Durán)
2- Legal Psychology: patient autonomy, medical-legal documents (Dra. Gómez-Durán).
3- Legal Psychology: professional responsibility, deontology (Dr. Martin-Fumadó)
4- Basic legal foundations (Dr. Agustina).
5- Criminal area 5.1-Basic criminology (Dr. Martin-Fumadó)
5.2-Prison boarding (Dr. Martin-Fumadó)
5.2-Imputability (Dr. Martin-Fumadó)
5.3-Violence and its forms (Dra. Gómez-Durán)
5.4-The aggressor (Dra. Gómez-Durán / Dra. Vizcaíno)
5.5-The victim (Dr. Vizcaíno)
6- Civil and family sphere
6.1- Modification of capacity (Dr. Gómez-Durán)
6.2- Custody and adoption (Dr. Vizcaíno)
6.3- Marriage nullity (Dr. Vizcaíno)
7- Labor area (Dr. Vizcaíno)
8- Alternative conflict resolution: mediation (Mrs. Agustina)
9- Practical cases (Dra. Gómez-Durán)
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
Continuous assessment
There will be an exercise for each class that will evaluate the level of understanding reached by the student on the subject and his reasoning ability.
The evaluation of the exercise will be done by the teacher responsible for the session. Some of them will involve the use of Moodle, some of them may be done during the class and others may involve autonomous homework of the student.
Se tendrán que realizar al menos el 80% de los ejercicios para poder superar la asignatura. El ejercicio de exposición se podrá considerar obligatorio según la evolución del curso.
La segunda convocatoria será oral.
Bibliography and resources
The following Chapter is recommended as a basic text: Psiquiatría Jurídica y Forense del Dr. Ortega-Monasterio y la Dra. Gómez-Durán (8a ed. del Tratado Introducción a la Psicopatología y la Psiquiatría -7ª ed. disponible a la biblioteca de la UIC).
Students will have the presentations used in class and, if appropriate, scientific articles and selected texts, recommended by teachers.