Legal, Forensic and Criminological Psychology

COURSE’S GENERAL AIMS Through lectures, the student may acquire the knowledge and skills of the psychologist in the methods of resolving conflicts alternative to the use of the decision by the Judge (Mediation in the Civil field) or complementary to the judgment of a crime that has resulted in damage (Mediation in the criminal field). The study of the nature and expressive modes of conflicts will allow to understand and enhance the psychological processes that allow to emerge resources both for the achievement of dispute resolution and for a reparation in the interpersonal relationship between the conflicting parties or between the offender and victim. The course is therefore aimed at developing knowledge and skills on the collaboration of the psychologist in the context of the interventions of Alternative Dispute Resolution and in that of Restorative Justice. The interventions aimed at repairing the damage will be studied both in the criminal field (especially juvenile) - where the result is the re-education of the offender with the active participation of the victim and the civil community - and in the civil field, especially when the damage is produced on the child (effects of the parental conflict on the children; mistreatment, abuse and neglect). A specific focus on conflict in family relationships – for example during separation and divorce –, will allow students to gain knowledge about the different forms of intervention for parenting support (from preventive to harm reduction) for separated parents: Family Mediation and Parenting Coordination. The study of conflict in the parental couple will also provide an insight into the different forms of domestic violence (IPV). Knowledge and understanding: passing the examination guarantees to be able to understand and use the most widespread and important methodological tools for the evaluation of the complexity of intersubjective human relations and to know and understand the variety of the psychologist's interventions in the psychological-forensic field. In particular, the student will have to develop skills to understand the specificity of interventions that require the integration of different disciplines - interdisciplinary - and of different roles in legal and judicial proceedings. Applying knowledge and understanding: passing the exam guarantees to know how to use some coding systems and to distinguish the levels of the observation (microanalytic, mesoanalytic, macroanalytic). In addition, students will experience the application of the multimethod procedure (direct observation and self reports). Through video watching and role playing, students will experience the application of knowledge for the family interview. Students will thus be able to understand how the knowledge of the Psychologist can be applied through the integration with the Family Court in different stages of legal procedures. Making judgment: passing the exam implies the acquisition of the ability to critically and creatively judge the methodologies of data collection related to the complexity of family relationships and the interventions to encourage change. Students should be able to judge the differences and possible integrations between paradigms and methodologies applied to the study of the human relationships: attachment and intersubjectivity; dyadic and family observations; interventions on interactions and interventions on representations; psychoeducation. Students will also acquire awareness of the ethical implications of the work of the Psychologist who collaborates with the justice system. Communication skills: Through the study of international literature, students acquire the ability to use specific language to describe different aspects of family dynamics. They will be guided to distinguish the authors of "protected designation of origin" who have put into use a new scientific terminology. At the same time, students will examine the structure of the most important articles in the research area to evaluate the guidelines and objectives of the published studies. After developing the ability to observe intersubjective dynamics, students will observe a legal or judicial case study and produce an evaluation report suitable for communication with a Judge. Learning skills: passing the exam implies the acquisition of transversal learning skills common to the logic and practice of relationship observation, which will allow the student to deepen the principles and the use -in the course of his academic and professional career -of the methods of external evaluation compared with those of internal evaluation. The learning will also allow to learn basic concepts implicit in the relational turn of different disciplines of psychology. After the course, students will be able to learn other assessment tools (for example, Psychodiagnostic Tests) and get to define a multi-method procedure necessary to answer different questions of the Judge or to offer an integrated project of intervention.