Open access. Letter. "Dye et al's1 timely editorial on ‘locked rehabilitation’ highlights the need for a closer working relationship between local and specialist commissioners in order to achieve appropriate, least-restrictive local care provision. It also raises the question whether the emergence of locked rehabilitation units is caused by a reduction in open hospital or community-based rehabilitation facilities, combined with a difficulty in accessing low secure units.........."
Understandings of personal recovery have emerged as an alternative framework to traditional ideas of clinical progression, or symptom remission, in clinical practice. Most research in this field has focussed on the experience of individuals suffering with psychotic disorders and little research has been conducted to explore the experience of individuals with a personality disorder diagnosis, despite the high prevalence of such difficulties. The nature of the personality disorder diagnosis, together with high prevalence rates in forensic settings, renders the understanding of recovery in these contexts particularly problematic. The current study seeks to map out pertinent themes relating to the recovery process in personality disorder as described by individuals accessing care in either community or forensic settings.
Open access. With the increase in the number of risk assessment tools and clinical algorithms in many areas of science and medicine, this Perspective article provides an overview of research findings that can assist in informing the choice of an instrument for practical use. We take the example of violence risk assessment tools in criminal justice and forensic psychiatry, where there are more than 200 such instruments and their use is typically mandated. We outline 10 key questions that researchers, clinicians and other professionals should ask when deciding what tool to use, which are also relevant for public policy and commissioners of services. These questions are based on two elements:research underpinning the external validation, and derivation or development of a particular instrument. We also recommend some guidelines for reporting drawn from consensus guidelines for research in prognostic models.
Open access. With the increase in the number of risk assessment tools and clinical algorithms in many areas of science and medicine, this Perspective article provides an overview of research findings that can assist in informing the choice of an instrument for practical use. We take the example of violence risk assessment tools in criminal justice and forensic psychiatry, where there are more than 200 such instruments and their use is typically mandated. We outline 10 key questions that researchers, clinicians and other professionals should ask when deciding what tool to use, which are also relevant for public policy and commissioners of services. These questions are based on two elements: research underpinning the external validation, and derivation or development of a particular instrument. We also recommend some guidelines for reporting drawn from consensus guidelines for research in prognostic models.
Literature has repeatedly reaffirmed sexual deviance as a risk factor for sexual recidivism, making it an important subject to examine. Yet, not all studies confirm the relevance of sexual deviance and there is a lack of consensus regarding the assessment of it. In the current study, 499 Dutch adult male subjects, admitted for sexual misconduct (possession of child abuse material, child molestation and other types of inappropriate sexual behaviour) to an outpatient forensic treatment facility, were compared regarding sexual paraphilias using self-reports from clients and official DSM-IV-TR diagnoses assessed by professionals. To read the full article, log in using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details.
The Media Crew work with their Occupational Therapists and a video producer to highlight issues that affect people in secure settings. As people with learning disabilities themselves, shaping the films is an important part of their therapy and several have been shortlisted for a number of national awards.
The objective of the study was to explore the experiences of individuals admitted to the hospital involuntarily under the Mental Health Act 2001 in the Republic of Ireland. Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text.
In rare penal cases, a defendant makes a claim that he or she was asleep at the time of an alleged crime. This article discusses a case of alleged sexsomnia where a man claimed that he had been asleep during a sexual encounter (rape) with a woman. The question that often arises during an investigation and in court is how complex a behaviour is someone able to perform and still be asleep? To assist the court in answering this question, forensic psychiatric experts may be appointed. But the experts were not present during the act and must therefore consider each case on the basis of the available information and existing research. This paper provides a brief overview of the research regarding sexsomnia. It will also discuss what kind of information is important to elaborate in these cases in order to clarify the premises for the experts’ conclusions to the court. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The single-item predictive validity of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) has not been thoroughly investigated, although this has great clinical relevance for the selection of treatment targets. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the characteristic START additions of scoring strengths next to vulnerabilities and selecting key items, add incremental predictive validity. Finally, predictive validity has primarily been studied in inpatient settings and included mainly patients with a psychotic disorder. We analysed data from a mixed diagnostic sample of 195 forensic psychiatric outpatients with a 3-month and 170 patients with a 6-month follow-up period, using logistic regression analysis.. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
The dearth of studies investigating diagnostic stability among offenders, and diagnostic stability being important from the patient’s mental health perspective, as well as from a public health, training and research standpoint, highlights the need to evaluate lifetime stability of ICD-10 psychiatric diagnoses for offenders in community and prison settings. A case-linkage design linked a two-year population-based cohort of male-sentenced prisoners with a state-wide psychiatric register (23,742 psychiatric consultations). Four measures of diagnostic stability were calculated for each setting as well as across settings, for all offenders who received at least two psychiatric diagnoses. Temporal consistency was moderate for schizophrenia spectrum disorders and low for affective, anxiety and personality disorders, and was higher in prison setting than community settings. Diagnostic instability highlights that the course of mental illness and clinical features among offenders may genuinely vary over time, across community and prison settings and may lead to complexities regarding psychiatric care for this population. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Improved understanding of inpatient aggression can come from systematic assessment of motivation for aggressive incidents. This study investigates staff members’ evaluation of motivation for aggressive incidents, and how such evaluations are influenced by staff restrictions and aggression severity.. To read the full article, log in using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
A report published by HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that significant improvement is needed to ensure sexual offenders are managed effectively in prison and in the community.
High levels of stigma and discrimination are reported by individuals with mental health problems. Aim: To assess self-reported levels of stigma and discrimination in forensic psychiatric patients, with psychotic illness, compared with general adult psychiatric patients with psychosis. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
This research is about people who have intellectual disabilities and live in a secure hospital. It is about a group of people who meet at a support group. The support group is for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Assessment of users' skills and confidence to safely respond to risky community-based situations underpins discharge planning. Serious games have been used for skills development, and this study trialled their use in forensic mental health services. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.