Program description
*Note: UMASS Forensic Fellowship Program pays the registration fee for UMASS Fellows to attend the AAPL Forensic Psychiatry Review Course.
Program description
The University of Massachusetts Medical School Fellowship in Law and Psychiatry offers an exciting one year program designed to provide comprehensive training in forensic psychiatry. The program capitalizes on a multi-disciplinary faculty with extensive forensic and academic experience. Our faculty includes forensic psychiatrists, forensic psychologists, and attorneys who have received local and national recognition for their contributions to law and psychiatry. The program offers a wide range of opportunities to perform criminal and civil evaluations. Rotation sites include the Court Evaluation Units of Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital and Bridgewater State Hospital, and major court clinic sites in Massachusetts such as the Cambridge and Boston Court Clinics. Fellows conduct criminal forensic evaluations such as competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility, aid in sentencing, and need for treatment of inmates. Participation in clinical treatment of persons involved with the criminal justice system varies across sites. Part-time rotations include work at juvenile and adult court clinic sites, as well as the opportunity to work with senior faculty in conducting private, civil and criminal evaluations related to areas such as community risk assessments, guardianship, fitness for duty, disability, sex offender assessment, and malpractice. During the training year, fellows gain experience with legal, correctional, and mental health systems and the political forces that can directly impact forensic psychiatric practice.

Educational components of the program include intensive supervision of all cases, report preparation and court testimony. In addition, fellows attend a comprehensive weekly seminar series covering areas related to civil and criminal forensic assessment methods, research issues, mental health law and landmark legal cases. Fellows also attend multiple statewide forensic mental health training conferences sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and they receive an educational stipend to support attendance at the AAPL meeting and for other educational purposes.

During the training year, fellows work on an empirical research project or on a review of a topic relevant to law and psychiatry. Opportunities exist for both involvement in faculty research projects and for faculty supervision of academic projects selected by the fellow.