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Semester 2

Mental Health Law (LAWS10205)

Subject

Law

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed 3 Law courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. This course is only open to visiting students who are nominated to study with us on a Law exchange agreement. Exchange students outside of Law and study abroad students are not eligible to enrol on this course before teaching begins, with no exceptions, and spaces cannot be guaranteed to those students at any time. **Please see Additional Restrictions**

Course Summary

It is only in recent years that talking freely and openly about mental health issues and what it is to experience mental health conditions have become more acceptable in mainstream society. This course is highly relevant in today's world and recognises the importance of expanding and developing knowledge and understanding of mental health issues and the application of mental health law. The main aim of the course is to examine the development of mental health law and how it is applied to related conditions that arise throughout the spectrum of life, beginning with diagnosis of conditions through early years, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and senior years. As well as examining specific legislation, the course (to a lesser extent) will focus on: changing societal attitudes to mental health and the growing recognition that mental health is as important as physical health; an in-depth investigation into the well-documented increase in the incidence of diagnosed mental health conditions in teenagers and its possible link to the global increase in the use of social media; and the ways in which society can maintain the positive momentum that has gathered over recent years. It should be noted that the basis of this course lies in the law and legislation; it does not seek to focus on medical diagnosis or treatment for mental health conditions.

Course Description

This course offers students, who may have no knowledge of mental health law, a worthwhile opportunity to build up knowledge, understanding and expertise in this area of growing interest and importance. By the end of the course, students will have gained a high level of critical understanding of the subject area and will competently be able to apply their knowledge to scenarios that may arise at any point throughout the human lifespan. **The course will be structured in such a way that it will track the chronological development of the human lifespan, focussing on important issues such as legal definitions of mental incapacity, the giving of informed consent by children and adults, emergency detention and short-term detention in hospital, consequences for education and employment, and power of attorney. Throughout the course, reference will be made to current mental health statutes and their applicability. **Students will be expected to prepare for and take part in each seminar by completing the necessary reading and research. This course will make use whole class discussions as well as small group discussions of case studies. These will help to give students a sense of personal involvement in the outcomes.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

**All 3rd year Law courses are ONLY open to visiting students nominated on an exchange agreement within the School of Law (including Erasmus students on a Law-specific exchange). Exchange students outside of Law, and independent study abroad students, are not eligible to enrol in these courses, with no exceptions.** Please note that 3rd year Law courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces. These enrolments are managed strictly by the CAHSS Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the Law School directly to request additional spaces. If there is sufficient space for other visiting students to enrol at the start of the semester (which cannot be guaranteed at all), visiting students must meet the pre-requisites listed above.

view the timetable and further details for this course