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NIMHANS

Definition

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore; India's principal academic forensic mental health centre, providing court-ordered assessments and limited forensic treatment under the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 and BNSS § 367.

Location
Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), India
Core services
Court-ordered forensic assessments, forensic treatment, psychology and psychiatry training
Governing law
Mental Healthcare Act 2017 and BNSS section 367

Common questions

What does NIMHANS do in forensic cases?+

NIMHANS provides court-ordered psychological and psychiatric assessments for criminal cases. It also offers limited forensic treatment services under Indian mental health law. The institute is India's primary center for combining forensic psychology and psychiatry services with academic training.

Can individuals get forensic mental health treatment at NIMHANS?+

NIMHANS provides treatment, but capacity is limited. Court assessments and evaluations are a main focus. Cases are typically handled through legal procedures under the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 and relevant criminal procedure sections.

Is NIMHANS only for India?+

NIMHANS is India's principal forensic mental health center and based in Bengaluru. However, forensic psychology and psychiatry services exist in other countries with similar institutional structures, though NIMHANS is the primary Indian institution for this combined specialty.

Related terms

ANZAPPL
Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, the primary regional professional society for forensic mental health practitioners.
AP-LS
American Psychology-Law Society, APA Division 41, the primary US professional society for forensic psychology, publisher of Law and Human Behavior.
APA Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology
The 2013 APA document setting professional and ethical standards for forensic psychologists in the US across eleven sections covering responsibilities, competence, relationships,...
BPS Division of Forensic Psychology
The British Psychological Society division that accredits forensic psychology training and awards Chartered Forensic Psychologist status in the UK.
Clinical Forensic Psychology
The branch of forensic psychology concerned with individual-level assessment for court purposes, including competency evaluations, insanity assessments, and violence risk assessment.
Community Treatment Order (CTO)
A legal order under the Mental Health Act 1983 (England and Wales) requiring a patient discharged from hospital to adhere to specified...
Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD)
A UK policy category (not a diagnostic term) for individuals assessed as presenting grave and immediate danger due to personality disorder. DSPD...
Daubert Standard
The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Marsha Linehan's structured treatment for borderline personality disorder, combining acceptance and change strategies across four skill modules (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation,...
Forensic Psychology
The application of psychological science to questions arising in legal, criminal justice, and public policy contexts, spanning clinical assessment, investigative practice, and...
Frye Standard
The US legal test for admissibility of scientific evidence, originating from Frye v. United States (1923), which required that a technique be...
IHBAS
Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, Delhi, providing forensic mental health evaluations under the Delhi state government framework.

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