20 Hours | 20 CEs

This on-demand professional training program on Trauma and Mental Disability Law is presented by Michael L. Perlin, JD, and Heather Ellis Cucolo in partnership with Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates.

This program considers how issues involving trauma-induced mental disabilities (PTSD as an example) are dealt with in civil and criminal courts and other legal areas within the community.

The material is of primary interest to legal practitioners, mental health clinicians, forensic psychologists and other forensic mental health professionals, and disability advocates. In addition, the program includes a review of the policy and legal developments of various issues involving certain marginalized groups and populations, such as: children, veterans, those discharged from psychiatric institutions, survivors of domestic abuse, forensic patients, and prison inmates.

The program discusses how we treat trauma-related disabilities in civil and criminal courts, the role of trauma in the legal treatment of people with mental disabilities, the relationship between trauma and disability reduction, and the relationship between stigma and trauma. In addition, the course contextualizes all of these issues through the framework of therapeutic jurisprudence. Finally, it offers various therapeutic intervention points geared towards shifting the relationship between law, trauma, and people with mental disabilities.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program you will be able to:

  • Describe the treatment of trauma-related disabilities in civil and criminal courts

  • Describe the role of trauma in the legal treatment of people with mental disabilities

  • Describe the relationship between trauma and disability subordination

  • Describe how trauma relates to issues of gender, race, youth & violence

  • Describe the relationship between trauma and issues of sanism and pretextuality

  • Describe therapeutic jurisprudence concepts to all the underlying issues

Presented By

Heather Ellis Cucolo, JD

Heather Ellis Cucolo is a Distinguished Adjunct professor of law and the facilitator of the joint JD/MA program with John Jay College of Criminal Justice, at New York Law School (NYLS). She is also an adjunct professor in the JM Program at Emory University School of Law, and a Fellowship faculty member at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In addition to those roles, Professor Cucolo is co-owner of Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates, a legal education and professional training company, and was elected to the board of trustees for the International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, a non-profit organization. Formerly, in her full-time legal practice, Professor Cucolo dedicated her career to representing individuals at trial facing civil commitment under both the New Jersey Mental Hygiene Law and New Jersey’s Sexually Violent Predators Act. She authored and argued appeals before the New Jersey Appellate Division with over 27 reported decisions. She has published four textbooks and over 21 law review articles with mentions in an Eastern District of New York court decision and an Iowa appellate decision. She was honored to receive the Otto L. Walter Distinguished Writing Award for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019. Professor Cucolo’s international work has included: expert testimony on extradition from the United Kingdom to the United States for persons convicted of a sex offense; pro bono advocacy for LawAid International; speaking at the United Nations on the rights of persons with disabilities in the Asia-Pacific region; and the creation of an instructional course on disability legislation for attorneys in Japan.

Michael L. Perlin, JD

Michael L. Perlin is Professor of Law Emeritus at New York Law School (NYLS), founding director of NYLS’s Online Mental Disability Law Program, and founding director of NYLS’s International Mental Disability Law Reform Project in its Justice Action Center. He is also the co-founder of Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates. He has written 31 books and nearly 300 articles on all aspects of mental disability law, many of which deal with the overlap between mental disability law and criminal law and procedure.

Collect Badges, Earn Certificates

This is a badge-earning program, which means it will help you earn a certificate that can be showcased on digital platforms like LinkedIn.

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  • Intended Audience

    This self-paced program is intended for mental health and other allied professionals.

  • Experience Level

    This self-paced program is appropriate for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level clinicians.

  • CE / CPD Credit

    APA, ASWB, CPA, NBCC Click here for state and other regional board approvals.

Curriculum

    1. Review Before Proceeding

    1. Lesson 1 Video

    2. Half-Wrecked Prejudice Leaped Forth

    3. Increasing Law Students Effectiveness

    4. "The Pain I Rise Above"

    5. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 2 Video

    2. Who's Pretending to Case for Him?

    3. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 3 Video

    2. McCabe v Life-Line Ambulance Service Inc.

    3. Ludwig v. Anderson

    4. Linbrugger v. Abercia

    5. Moore v. Wyoming Medical Cente

    6. Federman v. County of Kern

    7. NASMHPD Position Statement

    8. Therapeutic Jurisprudence Perspective

    9. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 4 Video

    2. Beck v. Wilson

    3. Caroline C. By and Through Carter v. Johnson

    4. Counsel in Right to Refuse Treatment Cases

    5. Civil Commitment Cases

    6. The Pedagogy of Trauma-Informed Lawyering

    7. Trauma: What Lurks Beneath the Surface

    8. Lesson Quiz

    1. Lesson 5 Video

    2. Mental Health Courts

    3. Who Will Judge the Many

    4. "The Judge, He Cast His Robe Aside"

    5. Developments in Mental Health Law

    6. John Brown Went off to War

    7. Investigating the Programmatic Attack

    8. Lesson Quiz

About this course

  • $500.00
  • 75 lessons
  • 10.5 hours of video content

Develop a Specialty Area of Practice

Transforming mental health professionals into experts

  • Expert Instructors

    Professional training developed and delivered by the field's leading experts

  • CE Credit

    Earn CE credit for meaningful professional training that will elevate your practice

  • Convenience & Flexibility

    Learn at your own pace, from wherever you might be!

Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates

We are proud to partner with Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates, LLC for this training. MDLPA is a boutique educational training company that offers specialized mental disability law consulting, the creation or enhancement of distance learning programs, in-house or online courses, and day or weekend training seminars to reputable organizations, educational institutions, professional groups and advocacy groups focused on providing advanced knowledge and skills to persons working with marginalized populations.NYSAP professionals have played a key role for 25 years in research on juveniles’ competence to stand trial and in developing juvenile competence standards for forensic clinical practice, law, and policy. In response to the growing demand for juvenile competence evaluations nationally, we provide consultation to assist agencies in developing or refining their juvenile competence service delivery system, as well as creating and conducting quality assurance procedures. We train clinicians and juvenile justice stakeholders (e.g., judges, attorneys, and community partners) in practice standards for conducting high quality juvenile competence evaluations.
Partner Website

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