Program description
The fellowship is a full-time, one-year program that uses clinical, didactic, and scholarly experiences to educate trainees about three major topic areas:
1. The use of psychiatric expertise to aid in the resolution of legal issues;
2. The treatment of patients in forensic treatment settings, including maximum-security hospitals, correctional institutions, and community programs; and
3. The legal regulation of psychiatric practice.
The program is based in the Law and Psychiatry Division of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale and includes rotations/placements at: 1) Yale Law School; 2) New Haven Office of Court Evaluations; 3) attorneys’ offices (states attorney, public defender); 4) Whiting Forensic Hospital (maximum and medium security treatment centers); and 5) VA Connecticut Health Care System. The program’s overall goals include:
1. Understanding the legal standards and concepts in civil and criminal forensic evaluations.
2. Learning the principles and current trends in the legal regulation of psychiatric practice; e.g. civil commitment, confidentiality, liability, duty to third parties, physician/patient relationships, ethics, right to refuse treatment, and informed consent.
3. Becoming familiar with public sector psychiatry administration and the special issues involved with mental health treatment in jail, prisons, and maximum-security psychiatric hospitals.
4. Developing a knowledge base in areas of psychiatry particularly relevant to forensics, such as malingering, neuropsychiatric disorders, sexual disorders, and substance use disorders.
5. Gaining experience in preparing forensic reports, testifying as an expert witness, and consulting to attorneys and governmental bodies regarding mental health policy.
6. Completing a scholarly project, either empirical research or review of the legal and/or psychiatric literature.
Graduates of the fellowship become leaders in forensic psychiatry, influencing the direction of clinical practice, research, education, and mental health policy at the national and international levels.