‘First and foremost a human being…’: user perspectives on mental health services from 50 mentally disordered offenders [2018]
Background: This is the first study of this kind in a Danish context. Knowledge and research on user perspectives is rather limited in Danish as well as Nordic psychiatry. Aims: The aim of the study was to create new knowledge
‘Only ever as a last resort’: Mental health nurses’ experiences of restrictive practices [2020]
Nurses play a crucial role in the implementation of restrictive practices such as seclusion and restraint. Restrictive practices have been widely recognized as harmful practices and efforts to reduce their use have been in place for several years. While some
‘The Art of Understanding in Forensic Psychiatric Care’ – From a Caring Science Perspective Based on a Lifeworld Approach [2018]
Patients in forensic psychiatric clinics are a vulnerable and exposed patient group due to suffering from a severe mental disorder, having committed a crime and being cared for against their will in an institutional environment with a high level of
‘The Art of Understanding in Forensic Psychiatric Care’ – From a Caring Science Perspective Based on a Lifeworld Approach [2018]
Patients in forensic psychiatric clinics are a vulnerable and exposed patient group due to suffering from a severe mental disorder, having committed a crime and being cared for against their will in an institutional environment with a high level of
“It Had Only Been a Matter of Time Before I Had Relapsed Into Crime” Aspects of Care and Personal Recovery in Forensic Mental Health [2018]
Introduction Forensic psychiatry has the dual task of focusing on the prevention of reoffending as well as maintaining psychiatric rehabilitation. No previous studies addressing the patients’ own views on reducing their risk of serious reoffending were found. Aim This study
“It’s not a life of war and conflict”: experienced therapists’ views on negotiating a therapeutic alliance in involuntary treatment [2019]
Background Working alliances are considered to be essential to treatment, and they represent a robust predictor of positive treatment outcomes. In a working alliance, a patient and therapist agree upon treatment decisions, which can raise a series of challenges when
A Behavioral Genetic Analysis of the Cooccurrence Between Psychopathic Personality Traits and Criminal Behavior [2018]
A developed line of research has found that psychopathic personality traits and criminal behavior are correlated with one another. Although there is little question about the association between psychopathic personality traits and criminal behavior, what remains less clear is whether
A comprehensive literature review of Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT): Directions for practice, policy and research [2020]
Forensic assertive community treatment (FACT) is an adaptation of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), a widely-studied evidence-based model for mental health services delivery. ACT has been demonstrated to reduce psychiatric hospitalizations and improve community tenure, however, research on the adaptations needed
A hierarchy of expert performance applied to forensic psychological assessments – 2018-02
Experts in forensic psychology must make skilled observations and conclusions, minimally compromised by bias, in order to try and provide reliable and accurate conclusions to the courts. But the field has little data revealing how well forensic psychologists actually perform
A National Survey of Medical School Curricula on Criminal Justice and Health [2019]
The number of U.S. medical schools that provide clinical training in correctional facilities or classroom-based training in criminal justice–related issues is unknown. This study consisted of an online survey of deans of education at U.S. schools granting an MD degree
A Positive Behavioral Approach for Aggression in Forensic Psychiatric Settings [2017]
Aggression toward self and others by complex patients admitted to forensic psychiatric settings is a relatively common yet extremely difficult behavior to treat. Traditional interventions in forensic inpatient settings have historically emphasized control and management over treatment. Research over the
A Prospective Examination of the Predictive Validity of Five Structured Instruments for Inpatient Violence in a Secure Forensic Hospital – 2018
This prospective study investigated the predictive validity of five structured risk/forensic instruments for inpatient violence risk in a secure forensic hospital. Episodes of inpatient violence and the following instruments were each coded from hospital files: Historical Clinical Risk Management 20
A PTSD Screen for Forensic Populations [2018]
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been observed in a sizable proportion of the U.S. adult correctional population. Jail administrators must pay particularly close attention to inmates with PTSD symptoms, considering these facilities serve as the gateway to the criminal justice
A qualitative evaluation of an ACT-based substance misuse treatment programme for service users within a secure mental health setting [2018]
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand service users’ experience of a new acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)-based substance misuse programme. The programme is designed for people in secure mental health services, presenting with complex mental health difficulties
A Quality Improvement Project Using Verbal De-Escalation to Reduce Seclusion and Patient Aggression in an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit [2020]
The use of seclusion is controversial and has been deemed an encroachment on human rights and dignity which can cause psychological trauma and physical injury to patients in the psychiatric setting. This quality improvement project used a quasi-experimental design to
A Review of Approaches to Detecting Malingering in Forensic Contexts and Promising Cognitive Load-Inducing Lie Detection Techniques [2018]
Malingering, the feigning of psychological or physical ailment for gain, imposes high costs on society, especially on the criminal-justice system. In this article, we review some of the costs of malingering in forensic contexts. Then the most common methods of
A review of factors associated with severe violence in schizophrenia [2018]
Background: There is a modest but consistent association between violence and schizophrenia. The consequences of serious violence could be catastrophic for the victims, as well as the patients themselves and the community. Any knowledge that would help to prevent acts
A Study Into the Severity of Forensic and Civil Inpatient Aggression [2018]
Aggressive incidents occur frequently in health care facilities, such as psychiatric care and forensic psychiatric hospitals. Previous research suggests that civil psychiatric inpatients may display more aggression than forensic inpatients. However, there is a lack of research comparing these groups
A systematic PRISMA review of individuals with autism spectrum disorder in secure psychiatric care: prevalence, treatment, risk assessment and other clinical considerations – 2018
Purpose Patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with specific assessment, specific difficulties, needs and therapeutic issues and therefore are a challenging group for forensic services. Given the challenge that individuals with ASD present to forensic services, the suggested increase
A Theoretical and Empirical Review of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Within Forensic Psychiatric and Correctional Settings Worldwide – 2018
Cognitive-behavioral programs which are structured, skills-based, and risk-focused have been found to reduce recidivism rates by up to 55%. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) exemplifies all of these components, and has been rapidly adapted and implemented in correctional and forensic psychiatric
A Theoretical and Empirical Review of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Within Forensic Psychiatric and Correctional Settings Worldwide – 2018-01
Cognitive-behavioral programs which are structured, skills-based, and risk-focused have been found to reduce recidivism rates by up to 55%. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) exemplifies all of these components, and has been rapidly adapted and implemented in correctional and forensic psychiatric
Achieving violence and restraint reduction in an IPCU [2016]
This article reports on the culture and practice changes that have evolved in an intensive psychiatric care unit (IPCU) since starting its journey with the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (Mental Health) in 2012. Significant, sustained reductions in patient violence and
Adapting dialectical behaviour therapy in forensic learning disability services: A grounded theory informed study of “what works” [2019]
Background Emerging evidence indicates effectiveness of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) for people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) in forensic settings; however, little is known about “what works” facilitating engagement and change. Methods Eleven interviews were conducted with nine service users across
Addressing Linguistic and Cultural Differences in the Forensic Interview [2018]
Given the increased cultural, linguistic and socioeconomic diversity of individuals undergoing legal proceedings, forensic mental health professionals around the world are often tasked with evaluating defendants who are drastically different from themselves. There appears to be a clear consensus that
Affective neuroscience: A primer with implications for forensic psychology – 2017-12-20
Emotions have important implications for many aspects of cognition and behaviour, including those that are of concern to forensic psychologists. This review article provides an overview of the emerging field of affective neuroscience – the scientific discipline that seeks to
Affective neuroscience: a primer with implications for forensic psychology – 2018
Emotions have important implications for many aspects of cognition and behaviour, including those that are of concern to forensic psychologists. This review article provides an overview of the emerging field of affective neuroscience – the scientific discipline that seeks to
Age onset of offending and serious mental illness among forensic psychiatric patients: A latent profile analysis – 2018
Background Developmental typologies regarding age of onset of violence and offending have not routinely taken account of the role of serious mental illness (SMI), and whether age of onset of offending in relation to onset of illness impacts on the
Age onset of offending and serious mental illness among forensic psychiatric patients: A latent profile analysis [2018]
Background Developmental typologies regarding age of onset of violence and offending have not routinely taken account of the role of serious mental illness (SMI), and whether age of onset of offending in relation to onset of illness impacts on the
Ageing in forensic psychiatric secure settings: the views of members of staff [2018]
Background: Although the prevalence of older patients in forensic psychiatric services is increasing, research around service provision for this population is very limited. We aimed to gather the views of members of staff on how well secure services are meeting
Ageing in forensic psychiatric secure settings: the voice of older patients [2018]
Older patients account for around 20% of the population in secure forensic psychiatric services in the UK. However, little qualitative research has investigated the experience of ageing in secure settings. This study aimed to gather the individual views of a
Ageing in forensic psychiatric secure settings: the voice of older patients [2018]
Older patients account for around 20% of the population in secure forensic psychiatric services in the UK. However, little qualitative research has investigated the experience of ageing in secure settings. This study aimed to gather the individual views of a
Aggressive Behavior Among Persons With Schizophrenia and Those Who Are Developing Schizophrenia: Attempting to Understand the Limited Evidence on Causality [2017]
People with, and those who are developing, schizophrenia are at increased risk to engage in aggressive behavior (AGB). Some incidents lead to criminal prosecution. Most people with schizophrenia who commit crimes engage in delinquency and/or AGB prior to first episode.
An evaluation of a specialist firesetting treatment programme for male and female mentally disordered offenders (the FIP-MO) – 2017-12-28
Individuals who set deliberate fires are frequently encountered by clinicians working in forensic mental health services. However, little attention has been paid to developing standardised treatment for this behaviour, and few evaluations of treatment have been conducted in forensic mental
An evaluation of a specialist firesetting treatment programme for male and female mentally disordered offenders (the FIP‐MO) – 2017
Individuals who set deliberate fires are frequently encountered by clinicians working in forensic mental health services. However, little attention has been paid to developing standardised treatment for this behaviour, and few evaluations of treatment have been conducted in forensic mental
An evaluation of the effectiveness of positive behavioural support within a medium secure mental health forensic service – 2018
A number of recent influential reports recommend the use of proactive and preventative approaches such as Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) in the management of challenging behaviours. Although evidence supporting the use of PBS is mainly drawn from studies of learning
An Evolutionary Model to Conceptualize Psychopathic Traits Across Community and Forensic Male Youth [2019]
Psychopathy has been historically associated with a lack of emotion. However, some authors argue that psychopathy may represent a tendency to externalize the experience of unpleasant emotions, including shame, what could be seen as an adaptive strategy within an evolutionary
An Examination of PTSD and Criminal Responsibility among US Servicemembers [2019]
AbstractIntroductionThis retrospective study evaluated the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis among military servicemembers referred for Sanity Boards (n = 229), which is a military evaluation for competence to stand trial (CST) and criminal responsibility (CR). This study further
An Examination of Triarchic Psychopathy Constructs in Female Offenders [2018]
This study sought to expand scientific knowledge on psychopathic personality traits in female offenders by evaluating the relationship between MMPI–2–RF triarchic scales and self-reported external variables in a sample of 205 female offenders. Results indicated that boldness was inversely related
An exploration of perceived coercion into psychological assessment and treatment within a low secure forensic mental health service [2020]
Psychologists working within forensic mental health (FMH) services face challenges around supporting clients’ informed consent when engaging in psychological assessment and treatment. Given that there is little research in this area, this qualitative study interviewed ten forensic inpatients from a
An investigation of spitefulness in violent offenders: Associations with the dark triad and emotion dysregulation [2020]
BackgroundSpitefulness is the inclination to inflict harm to someone else even at one’s own expenses. The development of a self‐report measure (the Spitefulness Scale [SS]) has fostered the investigation of the relationships between spitefulness and aggression‐related variables. ObjectiveThe present study
Antisocial features are not predictive of symptom exaggeration in forensic patients – 2018
Purpose To investigate the predictive value of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and features of ASPD (i.e., lack of remorse, blame externalization, and deceitfulness) for symptom exaggeration. Methods A sample of forensic psychiatric patients (N = 57) was asked to complete
Assessing psychotic symptoms in forensic evaluations of criminal responsibility – a pilot study using Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale [2020]
Description of symptoms and signs related to psychotic disorders at the time of the crime is essential in forensic evaluations of legal insanity. Knowledge of the content of forensic reports is important to improve and secure their quality. Here we
Assessing the Risk of Inpatient Violence in Autism Spectrum Disorder [2019]
The Historical Clinical and Risk Management scale (HCR-20) is a structured clinical judgment tool used to assess risk of violence in secure settings. But the scale does not account for difficulties typical of patients with autism spectrum disorder, which are
Assessment of Risk for Seclusion Among Forensic Inpatients: Validation and Modification of the Risk of Administrative Segregation Tool (RAST) [2019]
Seclusion is used in psychiatric care to protect patients and staff or to manage aggression but may have adverse effects. The ability to identify at-risk patients could help reduce seclusion. This study tested the Risk of Administrative Segregation Tool’s (RAST)
Association Between Early Contact With Mental Health Services After an Offense and Reoffending in Individuals Diagnosed With Psychosis [2020]
Key PointsQuestion What is the association between early clinical contact with mental health services and reoffending after an index offense among individuals diagnosed with psychosis? Findings In this cohort study of 7030 offenders with psychosis, 2-year follow-up showed an association
Associations Between Neurocognitive Characteristics, Treatment Outcome, and Dropout Among Aggressive Forensic Psychiatric Outpatients – 2018-01-01
Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is widely used to reduce aggression and is considered to be effective although there are also inconsistent results. Studies investigating the effectiveness of ART do not focus on neurocognitive characteristics. Focusing on these aspects would result
Associations Between Neurocognitive Characteristics, Treatment Outcome, and Dropout Among Aggressive Forensic Psychiatric Outpatients [2018]
Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is widely used to reduce aggression and is considered to be effective although there are also inconsistent results. Studies investigating the effectiveness of ART do not focus on neurocognitive characteristics. Focusing on these aspects would result
Barriers and facilitators to the effective de-escalation of conflict behaviours in forensic high-secure settings: a qualitative study [2020]
BackgroundViolent and aggressive incidents are common within mental health settings and are often managed using high-risk physical interventions such as restraint and seclusion. De-escalation is a first-line technique to manage conflict behaviours and prevent violence and aggression. There is limited
Beyond Traumatic Brain Injury: Advancing Forensic Neuropsychological Assessment [2018]
As research on the cognitive impact of medical conditions and mental health disorders advances, it is imperative for forensic neuropsychologists to stay abreast of rapidly accumulating new empirical evidence from neuroscience and neuropsychology to disentangle multiple determinants of cognitive impairment.
Biological explanations of criminal behavior [2019]
There is a growing literature on biological explanations of antisocial and criminal behavior. This paper provides a selective review of three specific biological factors – psychophysiology (with the focus on blunted heart rate and skin conductance), brain mechanisms (with a
