Dr. Tracy Fass, interim director of the new MA program and associate professor in the Clinical Psychology Department, says, 鈥淲e put people with mental illness and addiction issues into correctional facilities where they fear for their lives and don鈥檛 necessarily get the treatment they need, then we are surprised when they are released and commit more crimes. That system doesn鈥檛 rehabilitate them. This program is trying to inform criminal justice personnel about empirically validated treatments.鈥� Fass, who previously worked at the LA County Jail, explains that there are numerous scenarios in which greater awareness of mental and behavioral health issues would be impactful. 鈥淐orrections officers sometimes think inmates with mental health issues are faking it, so they don鈥檛 get treatment. In many cases, a severely mentally ill homeless person pushing a grocery cart starts yelling and scares someone. If the police arrive first, the person goes to jail for 鈥榩ossession of a shopping cart鈥� (a form of theft). If an ambulance arrives first, they may go to a hospital if there is a bed available. Similarly, people with drug problems need to be treated for addiction because if you don鈥檛 treat the problem, it is a revolving door in the criminal justice system.鈥� The new two-year program provides training in the content and skills required to effectively participate, lead, and advocate in the criminal justice system. With the deinstitutionalization of mental health patients, a lot of individuals who would have been treated in psychiatric hospitals ended up in prisons and jails, so they now have to provide a lot of mental health treatment.鈥� 鈥擭ilda Laboy, PsyD, chair, Counseling and Behavioral Health Department There are numerous scenarios in which greater awareness of mental and behavioral health issues would be impactful. Our new two-year program provides training to effectively participate, lead, and advocate in the criminal justice system.鈥� 鈥擳racy L. Fass, PhD, JD, interim director, Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health MA Program It is designed for professionals already working or seeking to work in law enforcement, corrections, court systems, or public policy and advising. Through this program, students will learn how to recognize the signs of mental illness, interact with individuals with mental illness, and collaborate with mental health professionals. In addition to this MA degree, 91香蕉视频成人在线 offers several other options for students interested in careers at the intersection of law and mental health: CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY PSYD WITH A CONCENTRATION IN FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY This doctoral program provides comprehensive forensic psychology training by providing specialized coursework and applied experience in assessing, conceptualizing, and treating the mental health needs of correctional populations. MASTER OF ARTS IN CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING WITH AN EMPHASIS IN FORENSIC AND CORRECTIONAL COUNSELING This program prepares clinicians to provide interventions and services to individuals in a wide range of correctional and forensic settings. DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 91香蕉视频成人在线 collaborates with Massachusetts Department of Mental Health 16 RAPPORT | Feature Story