Fall 2017 - PSYC 379 D100

Clinical Forensic Psychology (3)

Class Number: 8304

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Thu, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 9, 2017
    Sat, 12:00–3:00 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    PSYC 201 and 268. PSYC 241 is recommended.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Clinical approaches to the understanding of behavior in criminal and civil forensic settings. Topics related to the assessment, treatment, and management of people suffering from mental disorder.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of clinical forensic psychology, focusing on the assessment and management of violence risk in criminal and civil settings. The course assumes that students have taken introductory courses in forensic psychology or criminology.   The primary objective of the course is to illustrate the role that clinical psychology can play in criminal and civil law matters, including how scientific research can be used to inform and guide psycholegal practice.

Grading

NOTES:

Grades will be based on three exams, each worth ⅓ of the final course grade. Each exam will cover  3 or 4 weeks of readings; that is, they will not be cumulative. Each exam will be 2 hrs in length. They will be structured as follows:  

About 1/3 of the marks will be based on answers to multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions. These questions are designed to test your recognition and basic comprehension of material presented in the readings.

About 1/3 of the marks will be based on answers to short-answer questions. These questions are designed to test your ability to understand and recall material presented in the readings.  

About 1/3 of the marks will be based on the answers to a long-answer or essay question. This question will be designed to test your ability to critically evaluate material presented in the readings and to integrate it with material presented in lectures. One week before each exam, I will give students 2 possible essay questions to help them prepare; I will choose only 1 to be included in the exam.

There will be no tutorials for this course.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

There is no text. Copies of or links to weekly readings will be available through the course Canvas website.

Students will be required to read three to four articles (journal articles, chapters, or government reports) each week. You are expected to complete the readings in advance of each class. The lectures are intended to supplement the readings, and so I will not repeat material already presented in the text unless asked by students to clarify specific issues.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS