Our professional development and training

Forensic issues are becoming increasingly prominent in mental health, while behavioural and mental health issues are a concern for legal and criminal justice settings. A key focus of the Centre is to transfer academic and clinical excellence into practice in the health, community services and criminal justice sectors. One of the ways we achieve this is by providing professional development and training to government and industry to develop an appropriately skilled workforce in these sectors. We also serve as the training arm of Forensicare, regularly delivering training to Forensicare staff and partners.

Our professional development and training programs are designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of professionals working in health, social and criminal justice services, including courts, policing, correctional justice and forensic mental health. We can also help to develop best practice models of care and treatment. 

Examples of our training topics

The CFBS has expertise in working with government and industry to develop and deliver customised training solutions tailored to specific needs and requirements of the agency or organisation’s workforce. Previous topics of training have included:

• Core competencies in forensic mental health
• Assessment and management of risk for sexual and non-sexual violence, intimate partner violence, arson, stalking and general offending
• Dealing with difficult or distressed self-represented litigants within various Australian court and tribunal settings
• Dealing with difficult people or situations within organisations
• Responding to and managing stalking in the workplace, including on campus at universities
• Dealing with people with severe personality disorders and offending behaviour.

If you would like to discuss the professional development and training needs of your agency or organisation, please contact Dr Margaret Nixon for an initial discussion by emailing mnixon@swinburne.edu.au or calling +61 3 9214 6233.