ObjectivesProvide students with a strong theoretical basis in the professional and academic understandings of criminality and mental disorder Enable students to meet and learn from the experience of practitioners within other agencies concerned with mentally disordered offenders Enhance existing practice-based skills of participants through specialist teaching related to mentally disordered offenders Provide students with an understanding of the social policy issues underpinning current service delivery to mentally disordered offenders Promote effective interagency work with mentally disordered offenders
Entry requirementsEntry Requirements The Diploma is intended for professionals with work experience (three years post-qualification) in Mental Health and/or degree standard education. Non-graduates are encouraged to apply. They will be asked to submit a short piece of original work and to undergo an interview prior to acceptance on the course.
Academic titlePostgraduate Diploma in Forensic Mental Health
Course descriptionCourse Structure
The course is structured into five modules, each consisting of topic-related teaching followed by student-led seminars. This is supplemented by the opportunity for students to participate in the extensive academic programme of the Section of Forensic Psychiatry. The modules are: Violence and Dangerousness; Ethics and ForensicMental Health; Forensic Psychotherapy; Law and the Mentally Disordered Offender; Social Policy and the Mentally Disordered Offender.
In addition to a rigorous academic approach to the theoretical issues related to the mentally disordered offender, the course promotes up-to-date practice-based skills to equip the student for risk assessment work, work with sex offenders and multi-agency management of mentally disordered offenders.
Grading system
The final grading allocation is the total aggregate of the various assessments. They will be used to determine the award of a Pass or Distinction.
The Diploma consists of six modules:
2 core modules:
Violence and Dangerousness 30 credits
Current Issues in ForensicMental Health 30 credits
5 option modules from the following:
Forensic Psychotherapy 15 credits
Social Policy 15 credits
Law and the Mentally Disordered Offender 15 credits
Ethics and Mentally Disordered Offenders 15 credits
The pass mark for each assessment is set at 50% and the distinction mark at 70%.
Categories
Distinction 70-100
Good Pass 60-69
Pass 50-59
Borderline Fail 47-49
Fail0 -46
The MSc assessment consists of two elements:
Research proposal (Research Methods module 15 credits)
Dissertation (Research Project module 45 credits)
Attendance
The Diploma is a part-time course lasting one academic year. It requires students to be available for teaching one day a week (Friday) at St George's Hospital Medical School.