The Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at the University of Virginia is an interdisciplinary program in mental health law, forensic psychiatry, and forensic psychology. Institute activities include academic programs, forensic clinical evaluations, professional training, empirical and theoretical research, and public policy consultation and review.
Through its faculty who possess expertise in the law, psychiatry, psychology, and social work, the Institute brings an integrated approach to a wide variety of interdisciplinary programs pertinent to mental health practice, social policy, and the law. The Institute is part of the University of Virginia School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences and is affiliated with the School of Law, the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Curry School of Education programs in Clinical Psychology and School Psychology. The Institute is also supported in part by the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services and the Virginia Office of the Attorney General.
The educational and training activities of the Institute include courses, seminars, workshops, symposia, and fellowships. Courses and seminars constitute part of the curriculum of the School of Law, and are taught each year by interdisciplinary teams. In addition, various other programs are designed to serve the educational needs of students and residents in law, psychiatry, psychology, and biomedical ethics, and to offer continuing education and training for attorneys, judges, mental health professionals, criminal justice specialists, and law enforcement personnel.
The Institute's research activities include multidisciplinary studies in clinical criminology, empirical studies of psychiatric and legal decision-making, and the analysis of mental health law and policy. Research projects have been sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Justice, the MacArthur Research Network on Mental Health and the Law, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, and private foundations.
Institute faculty are involved in professional and public service activities on the international, national, state, and community levels. In addition to membership in major organizations in law, psychiatry, psychology, and social work, Institute personnel hold elected offices, serve on editorial advisory boards, chair and serve on commissions, committees, and task forces, and advise and consult on the full range of mental health law issues.
The mission of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy is to:
- Understand, assess, prevent, and manage violence in society, with particular emphasis on violence among people with mental disorders;
- Promote human rights by developing and strengthening the ethical and legal foundations of the rights of persons who have or are perceived to have mental illnesses and disabilities;
- Improve law and policy by developing and shaping laws and public policies related to mental health and human development, including, for example, civil commitment, legal responsibility, competence, surrogate decision-making, confidentiality, child protection, and substance abuse; and
- Provide better information to the courts by improving the capacity of mental health disciplines to provide sound, reliable clinical and scientific information to civil and criminal courts, and assisting courts to make informed decisions.
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