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.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CB02 - Students must know how to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and have competences that are usually demonstrated through the creation and defence of arguments and the solving of problems within their field of study.
- CB04 - Students must be able to convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- CE08 - Awareness of the professional reality of psychologists in a specific field of application.
- CE10 - The ability to recognise the various dimensions of personality, as well as the theoretical and methodological approaches and models for studying behaviour.
- CE14 - The ability to recognise the basis of normal and altered human behaviour.
- CE15 - The ability to assess the social and anthropological aspects of human beings, taking into account the historical and sociocultural variables that exist in the configuration of the human psyche and interpersonal relations.
- CE16 - The ability to communicate evaluations in a critical, well-founded manner, respecting the ethical commitment involved in disseminating psychological knowledge.
- CE17 - The ability to analyse the psychological and social demands and needs of people, groups and organisations in different contexts.
- CG01 - Capacity for critical and creative thinking, and capacity to investigate and adopt a scientific and ethical approach in distinct professional settings.
- CG02 - The ability to make critical and well-founded judgements and assessments as part of the decision-making process.
- CG03 - The ability to read scientific literature in a critical, well-founded manner, take into account its provenance, situate it within an epistemological framework and identify and contrast its contributions in relation to the disciplinary knowledge available.
- CG04 - The ability to respect and enforce the code of ethics and act ethically in all activities related to the practice of the profession.
- CG06 - Flexibility, respect and discretion in the use of data corresponding to people, groups and organisations.
- CG07 - The ability to adapt to the setting, task or context, handle new tasks and responsibilities and generate processes of change.
- CG08 - The capacity to interpret the content and scope of the information received or requested, orally or in writing, and process it appropriately according to the nature of the matter at hand.
- CG09 - The ability to integrate psychological knowledge and developments into professional practice.
- CG10 - Sensitivity to the needs and expectations of others.
- CG12 - The ability to create the conditions necessary for effective communication and a good relationship of help and support.
- CT01 - The capacity to organise and plan.
- CT02 - The capacity to solve problems.
- CT03 - The capacity for analysis and synthesis.
- CT04 - The capacity to work in a team
- CT05 - The ability to reason and assess situations and results from a critical, constructive point of view.
- CT06 - The ability to develop interpersonal skills
- CT07 - The capacity to learn autonomously
- CT08 - The ability to put theoretical knowledge into practice
- CT11 - Respect the fundamental rights of equality between men and women, the promotion of human rights and the values of a culture of peace and democratic values.
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.