Mcgregor A1, Finlayson K1
1University Of New South Wales
Biography:
Anita has been a forensic psychologist for over 30 years, first in Canada where she worked for Correctional Services Canada and in private practice, then here in Australia at UNSW where she has been teaching and training students since 2006 in the master of forensic psychology program. Since Covid, Anita has developed a keen interest in how we can utilize simulated learning and purposeful or deliberate practice to teach forensic competencies.
Teaching forensic competencies within either a training format or a worksite can be difficult. Many psychology programs (even forensic programs) around the world, exclude clients with forensic issues within their training clinics given the complexities in presentation and appropriate resourcing.
COVID-19 presented further concerns as in person training and teaching became limited due to the necessity for online teaching and many clinics had to limit or close their services. Online therapy and assessment of forensic clients was often limited due to privacy concerns, access to internet or bail/order restrictions.
COVID challenged us to find opportunities to develop novel teaching solutions to ensure that students would still be able to meet development of required competencies. Part of the pivot to a different type of teaching included a move to simulated learning. We discuss how our clinic developed and utilized simulated learning during COVID and moving forward, how we intend to continue to use simulated learning as an adjunct to more traditional teaching methods in the clinic, and also to identify how to use this going into the future to assist mental health practitioners in further developing forensic skills.