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CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY: Personality Disorders & Dangerous Minds (Udemy.com)

2026 UPDATED Certified & Accredited: Psychopathy, Narcissism, Manipulation, Violence & Why Some Minds Become Dangerous

Created by: Elmira Strange, PhD

Last updated May 2026

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What you will learn

  • Understand the psychological roots of criminal behaviour, violence, and dangerous personality patterns
  • Learn the differences between psychopathy, narcissism, ASPD, BPD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and psychosis
  • Explore how trauma, attachment styles, emotional dysregulation, and environment influence offending behaviour
  • Analyse serial killers, mass murderers, spree killers, stalking, coercive control, and predatory behaviour from a psychological perspective
  • Discover how criminologists and forensic psychologists assess risk, warning signs, and behavioural escalation
  • Learn the difference between reactive violence, instrumental violence, emotional collapse, and calculated harm
  • Develop critical thinking skills when analysing crime documentaries, criminal cases, and media portrayals of violence
  • Gain a deeper understanding of prevention, behavioural leakage, and ethical issues in criminal psychology

How it compares

Against the other 503 rated Udemy courses in Teaching & Academics on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.8 out of 5higher than 87% of them
  • Reviews965#154 of 504 by number of reviews
  • Length3.1 hoursshorter than 56% of them
  • Last updatedMay 2026more recently than 87% of them

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Course Description

Criminal Psychology: Personality Disorders & Dangerous Minds

Psychopathy, Narcissism, Manipulation, Violence & Crime Explained

Why do some people become violent, manipulative, or dangerous — while others don’t?

Is criminal behaviour driven by personality, trauma, mental illness, or situational pressure?
And can we actually predict or prevent serious crime?

This course explores the psychological foundations of criminal behaviour with a clear, evidence-based focus on personality disorders, dangerous traits, and extreme offending.

Rather than relying on myths or sensationalism, you’ll learn how psychologists and researchers understand the links between personality, aggression, manipulation, violence, and crime — and where those links are often misunderstood.


What you’ll explore in this course:

  • How personality traits and disorders relate to criminal behaviour

  • The psychology of aggression, violence, and emotional dysregulation

  • Antisocial Personality Disorder, psychopathy, narcissism, and criminal risk

  • Borderline Personality Disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia & crime — facts vs fear

  • Attachment styles, trauma, and antisocial development

  • Sexual offending, stalking, coercive control, and obsession

  • Murder, serial killing, and mass violence: psychological patterns and motivations

  • Whether “ordinary” people are capable of extreme violence

  • Risk factors, early warning signs, and the limits of criminal prediction

You’ll also examine critical questions such as:

  • Is mental illness really linked to violence?

  • Are psychopaths born or made?

  • Can criminal behaviour be predicted or prevented?

  • Where does psychology end — and ethics begin?


Who this course is for:

  • Psychology students and enthusiasts

  • Therapists, counsellors, and mental health professionals

  • Criminology and forensic psychology learners

  • Anyone interested in criminal behaviour, personality, and the darker side of the human mind

No prior knowledge is required — concepts are explained clearly and accessibly, while remaining academically grounded and professionally relevant.


Course features:

  • Short, focused video lectures (8–12 minutes each)

  • Mini quizzes after each section

  • Final assessment and certificate of completion

  • Recommended reading, research references, and additional resources

P.S. This course is accredited by the International Association of Therapists (IAOTH).

P.P.S. If you want to understand criminal minds beyond stereotypes — with psychological depth, clarity, and nuance — enrol now and I’ll see you inside the course.

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Instructor Details

Elmira Strange, PhD

Elmira Strange, PhD

Research Psychologist | Former UK University Lecturer | Online Educator

Dr Elmira Strange is a Research Psychologist (PhD) and former university lecturer based in the United Kingdom. She has taught Psychology and Counselling at university level in Wales and has extensive experience in research, academic writing, and higher education.

Over the past decade, she has created a wide portfolio of psychology courses reaching students worldwide. Her teaching style combines academic depth with clarity, making complex psychological theories accessible, structured, and practical.

Her areas of expertise include:

Criminal & Forensic Psychology

Personality & Abnormal Psychology

Counselling & Psychotherapy

Transpersonal & Spiritual Psychology

Emotional Healing and Self-Development

Elmira’s academic background is complemented by powerful lived experience. In 2012, she underwent life-saving surgery following a critical health crisis — an event that reshaped her understanding of resilience, trauma, and meaning. This experience continues to inform her work in psychological growth and transformation.

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Reviews

4.8

965 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Monisola Adekoya on 5/29/2025

My best friend died weeks ago. And with the knowledge I have now. I was able to find a person of interest, a prime suspect. And I could tell from the evidence that she was threatened even in her home. Even though the family keeps romanticizing the suspect and didn’t want to press charges against the narcissist boyfriend. I’m glad I tried my best to. Thank you Udemy… thank you Elmira Strange. Love from Nigeria

By SHREYA SINGH on 4/2/2025

This is the first time I am taking a course in criminal psychology as it's not related to my job - just something i genuinely enjoy learning about. This course is the best course to start with in my belief as it's easy to understand and also interesting and engaging for learners like me.

By Prarthana S on 5/3/2024

The instructor touched upon some of the crucial topics which helps beginners interested to get started with criminology. The knowledge was transferred in a short span of time yet it was very informative. As a true crime fanatic, this course helped me to understand the mindset of crime offenders in general.

By Kiran Govind on 12/21/2022

i started to learn this course for my personal interest, it took me a week to complete this course, short and very informative and I really enjoyed the course. Elmira Strange is a wonderful tutor explains each topic in simple and informative. Those who wanna learn psychological courses in forensic try this course its worth it.

By Patrick JAMES on 10/20/2022

It is an excellent course, very complete, well organised and to the point. Personally, the only negative point, which bothered me a lot in my learning, is the lack of written support with what is given in the course. There is a lot of important and exciting information, statistics etc, and I regret not having a written and printable record to refer to. I'm one of those people who needs the written word to learn better :/ In any case, bravo, the course is great!

By Akash R. Ghorpade on 10/15/2022

I adore and respect my disicion of enrolling into this course, this is just what i needed, the basic and accurate concept clarifications. I have done my Masters in Psychiatric Nursing and teach in the College of Nursing, I loved the way Udemy has organized and sorted out the courses in minimal cost. Learned a lot and still heading forward to continue it. Its intresting and factual, so seeking my attention for each second.

By Maulishri S on 4/23/2022

I really enjoyed this course & I thank Elmira for being so thoughtful & taking out time to even answer some of my questions despite being so busy! What I liked about the course is that it covers some really deep topics but they are created as short modules, explained in an easy to understand manner backed with research / statistical evidence; so a healthy mix of theory and practical evidence :) I enjoyed doing the short quiz too :) Thank you Elmira and I will certainly look at the other courses offered by you.

By Janett Lee Wawrzyniak on 2/9/2022

Great choice, a well informed course presentation for a background knowledge in criminology. Also extensive coverage for self protection safeguard knowledge regarding any number of possibilities. Highest quality and great information. Always a pleasant presentation.

By Minister M. Vinet . on 8/13/2021

Working with ex-offenders, I find is very his interesting. I took the course to understand the psychology of the criminal mindset. This course is giving me more clarity of the mental health issues that are involved. This course is helping me with identifying the different types of behaviors.

By Carl Newman on 7/19/2021

Ideal for beginners, this course was presented in an easy to understand format without padding - clear, concise and to the point. The course is well structured and the length of each lecture should enable students to remain focused on the information being presented. Having previously undertaken Ms Strange's Forensic Psychology Course, I would recommend that students also consider enrolling for that course as these two courses complement each other.

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Quality Score

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Overall Score : 96 / 100