Graduate Certificate of Forensic Psychiatric Practice

The Graduate Certificate of Forensic Psychiatric Practice is designed to provide psychiatrists with the knowledge and skills needed to specialise in forensic practice.

The course provides academic and practical skills relevant to the practice of forensic psychiatry.

It includes principles of risk assessment, expert testimony, writing forensic court reports and ethical conduct.

This course provides the specific training for forensic psychiatrists to graduate as skilled professionals and leaders in the field.

This course is the only dedicated forensic psychiatry qualification offered in Australia.

It satisfies the academic requirements set out by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) for admission to the RANZCP.

The aim of this course is to provide a Graduate Certificate program suitable for psychiatrists wishing to specialise in forensic practice. This course satisfies the requirement of the accrediting body for all Forensic Psychiatric Trainees to complete an appropriate academic course, and is the only dedicated forensic psychiatry qualification available in Australasia.

relevance to the practice of forensic psychiatry, including principles of risk assessment, expert testimony, writing forensic court reports, and ethical conduct. This course provides the specific training for forensic psychiatrists to graduate as skilled professionals and leaders in the field.

• Three core units of study (37.5 credit points)
• One elective unit of study from list of specified alternatives (12.5 credit points)

Units of study

Students will complete the following three core units

FBS80014 Psychiatry in Forensic Contexts FBS80002 Fundamentals of Criminal Law Process FBS80011 Problem Behaviours 1

Students will complete one of the following units as an elective:

FBS80003 Principles of Violence Risk Assessment and Management FBS80006 Working with Difficult Personalities in the Forensic Context FBS80007 Substance Misuse and Offending FBS80009 Trauma and Offending FBS80012 Problem Behaviours 2 FBS80013 Working in Corrections and Youth Justice FBS80015 Development, Developmental Disability and Offending

* Outcome units - matched exemptions are not normally given for outcome units.

Applicants for the Graduate Certificate of Forensic Psychiatric Practice must:

• be enrolled in an Advanced Training Course for Forensic Psychiatry, such as that offered by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Forensic Psychiatry (RANZCP) (or equivalent), or
• be a registered consulting Clinical and/or Forensic Psychiatrist.

This course is only offered part-time and is not available to on-shore international students on a student visa.

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• apply specialised knowledge of the core issues and theories required for psychiatric practice in forensic settings
• apply specialised knowledge of the technical aspects of law, forensic systems, and ethics, enabling professional psychiatric practice across a range of settings
• evaluate, critically analyse and respond to challenges unique to working in forensic settings
• identify relevant methods, concepts and theories within forensic psychiatry, to enable evidence based practice in their discipline
• effectively communicate relevant knowledge and ideas with the diverse range of professionals and clients encountered in forensic settings
• apply knowledge of legal frameworks, professional practice and offending behaviour wherever forensic issues are relevant to their work
• adapt knowledge and core practice skills in forensic psychiatry in a manner which is responsible and largely autonomous.

Graduates will be expected to be:

• capable in their chosen professional, vocational or study areas
• entrepreneurial in contributing to innovation and development within their business, workplace or community
• able to deal with success and failure through informed critique and self-reflection
• effective and ethical in work and community situations
• adaptable and able to manage change: have the general capacity for flexibility and are open to new and different ways of doing things; able to work across a variety of situations and with a variety of people; recognise the need for lifelong learning
• aware of local and international environments: have cultural sensitivity and a respect for multiple points of view.