Using the Curriculum

Developing a Mental Health Court: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum is a free online multimedia curriculum for individuals and teams seeking to start, maintain, or just learn about mental health courts.

Members of a multidisciplinary team planning to implement a new mental health court program in their community will get the most out of this curriculum by using it in its entirety. Coordinators, facilitators, and new members should first begin by reading the User Guide below, which provides a more in-depth process for using the curriculum. The Handbook for Facilitators, also accessible below, will guide an individual interested in leading the training. You can also view a webinar for a tour of the curriculum and a presentation by a pilot site coordinator on her state’s experience using it.

Technical Requirements

Developing a Mental Health Court is available exclusively through this website. You will need

  • A computer with high-speed internet access;
  • Access to YouTube for streaming videos;
  • Speakers or headphones for audio features; and
  • Printer access for the Activities Guide sections or any additional material print-outs.

Members of a multidisciplinary team planning to implement a new mental health court program in their community will get the most out of this curriculum by using it in its entirety. Coordinators, facilitators, and new members should first begin by reading the User Guide below, which provides a more in-depth process for using the curriculum. The Handbook for Facilitators, also accessible below, will guide an individual interested in leading the training. You can also view a webinar for a tour of the curriculum and a presentation by a pilot site coordinator on her state’s experience using it.

Modules

The curriculum contains two introductory lessons and eight instructional modules accessible from the curriculum homepage or through the “Learning Modules” tab in the navigation bar. The introductory lessons are composed of a presentation and additional resources. The instructional modules contain prep work for each module as well as a presentation, quiz, activities guide, and additional resources pertaining to that module.

Each module’s summary page provides a brief overview of its content, learning objectives, links to specific sections, and a time estimate for the completion of each section of the module.

Each section, including the introductory lessons, should be completed in order. By starting with the prep work and continuing through the additional resources, the content in each presentation can build effectively on the prior module’s information.

Individuals on existing teams who are seeking to enhance their knowledge should use the Learning Modules menu to identify topics of interest and disregard the time estimates for completing the activities. As discussed below, individuals will tailor their approach to the specific activities to meet your specific needs.

Step One: Completing the Prep Work

When beginning a new instructional module, orient yourself to the topic with the background reading provided, which takes approximately 35-45 minutes. These readings are excerpts of various policy reports focused on designing and implementing mental health courts along with program examples and other useful documents developed by the CSG Justice Center and others.

*Please note that the two introductory lessons do not contain background reading.

Step Two: Viewing the Presentation

The presentations consist of approximately 40 slides containing text, graphics, and multimedia clips. Some slides break down complex research into easy takeaways. Other slides present the perspectives of experts and practitioners from different professional backgrounds, with programs at varying stages of development. Viewers will hear from policymakers, researchers, and mental health court graduates and practitioners—including judges, attorneys, behavioral health care providers, and mental health court program coordinators.

These presentations are not meant to comprehensively cover the topics discussed, but instead provide general background, prompt your team on how to learn more, and provide the context for completing the accompanying activities.

Viewing each presentation will take 30–45 minutes, but you can set your own pace and viewing schedule with your team.

Step Three: Taking the Quiz

The quizzes will help reinforce what you’ve learned from the prep work and presentations. Each quiz should take about five minutes to complete online.

After you finish a quiz, your score will automatically be tallied. You can use these results to identify topic areas for further study and consult the additional resources for more information on those topics.

Note: The two introductory lessons do not contain this element.

Step Four: Completing the Activities Guide

The activity guides help you apply the concepts you learn in each of the module’s presentations. They will prompt you and your team to reflect and discuss particular topics and, in some cases, design specific elements for your own mental health court program tailored specifically to the concepts covered in the module. Activities presented within an activity guide may include the following:

  • Review and discuss video with your team members.
  • Read sample mental health court materials for discussion.
  • Reflect on key lessons presented.
  • Problem-solve various hypothetical situations as a group.
  • Develop original materials for your court program.

While some activities, such as reading assignments, can be completed on your own, other assignments are more effective when completed with your team. There are also activities that ask you to develop key documents that may become part of your program’s policies and procedures. These documents will also be revisited throughout the implementation of your program.

TIP: To make the best use of your team’s involvement, review the Activities Guide on your own before meeting with the team. For example, one activity prompts you to list treatment resources available in your community. By developing this list beforehand, team members can be prepared to present a completed list during the next meeting.

Note: The introductory lessons do not have this element.

Step Five: Exploring the Additional Resources

It can be extremely helpful to refer to the additional resources to learn more about the topics discussed throughout the module. These resources include research articles, policy and practice manuals, and websites. They serve both to deepen users’ learning experience and to connect them to the community of mental health courts and associations around the country.

When a resource is available online, a link is provided to the host site. Some articles and books may require purchase.

Real World and Hypothetical Examples

Some of the videos in the presentations and activities guides show members of the Bonneville County (ID) Mental Health Court team (a Bureau of Justice Assistance Mental Health Court Learning Site) discussing their experiences operating a mental health court. Others show the Bonneville team engaging in simulated team meetings in which they discuss hypothetical program participants. The Bonneville team is not shown as a “model” mental health court team; for example, some may note the absence of a defense attorney at team meetings. Rather, the Bonneville team represents real people facing real challenges in a mental health court setting. Over the course of the curriculum, you will learn more about the Bonneville team’s work and have the opportunity to consider which aspects of their approach you will apply to your own work and community.

Some of the readings in the activities guides describe scenarios from hypothetical mental health courts. For example, one activity presents a mission and set of goals developed by a hypothetical program and prompts your team to discuss its merits and flaws. The individuals and situations described in these hypothetical scenarios are fictional and developed to facilitate learning.