CSG Justice Center Resource Spotlight

Developing a Mental Health Court: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum 

Introduction to Behavioral Health

Developing a Mental Health Court is a free multimedia curriculum with the information teams need to plan, implement, sustain, or simply learn about mental health courts based on research and best practices from the field. It is a crucial one-stop resource for judges, behavioral health treatment providers, court managers, judicial educators, probation officers, and many others. 

Do you want to better understand the needs of individuals with behavioral health issues and ensure coordinated treatment and court supervision? Start with Introduction to Behavioral Health, the curriculum’s first introductory lesson. Featuring a presentation and list of resources for further learning, this lesson describes the components of the mental health and substance abuse systems, gives the symptoms and basic terminology of mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders (CODs), and sets forth the principles of effective treatment for mental illnesses and CODs.