Forensic Group Psychotherapy

Forensic Group Psychotherapy: The Portman Clinic Approach stands as a comprehensive account of theoretical and practical approaches to the group treatment of patients who present with problematic sexual behaviour, criminality, and violence. The first section of the book focusses upon key aspects of group analytic theory as applied to clinical work with forensic patients and describes how to provide a setting in which treatment can proceed. This is followed by a series of chapters with a clinical emphasis, providing a rich and evocative account of the challenges of working with forensic patients in groups. The guiding principle is the need to understand and work with the victim within the perpetrator. This book is a must for any clinician working with forensic patients in groups. Though based on the work of an outpatient clinic, there are ideas and techniques that can be applied to many other settings, including prison, probation, and inpatient.

"Forensic Group Psychotherapy: The Portman Clinic Approach stands as a comprehensive account of theoretical and practical approaches to the group treatment of patients who present with problematic sexual behaviour, criminality, and violence. The first section of the book focusses upon key aspects of group analytic theory as applied to clinical work with forensic patients and describes how to provide a setting in which treatment can proceed. This is followed by a series of chapters with a clinical emphasis, providing a rich and evocative account of the challenges of working with forensic patients in groups. The guiding principle is the need to understand and work with the victim within the perpetrator. This book is a must for any clinician working with forensic patients in groups. Though based on the work of an outpatient clinic, there are ideas and techniques that can be applied to many other settings, including prison, probation, and inpatient."--Provided by publisher.

Forensic psychotherapy explores the roots of violent, sexual and antisocial behaviour. It is a relatively recently created discipline that applies psychoanalytic knowledge to the assessment, management and treatment of mentally disordered offenders, forming a bridge between traditional forensic psychiatry – with its focus on diagnosis and risk – and traditional psychotherapy – with its focus on understanding why things happen. As a discipline, forensic psychotherapy seeks to understand the conscious and unconscious motivations that underpin specific offending behaviours. We need to understand not only the detail of the crime, but also the offender as a whole person within his environment, including the criminal justice environment. It aims to understand the perpetrator, the victim, and the victim within the perpetrator. In this collection, leading international experts in forensic psychotherapy explore the different aspects and developments within the field. These include first hand experiences of shaping the emerging discipline within the UK, Europe and the United States; working therapeutically with high-risk offenders in prisons and secure hospitals; exploration of female violence and work with incarcerated mothers and babies; and the latest developments in forensic psychotherapy training. This book will be of interest to professionals and academics working within the fields of forensic mental health, criminal justice, psychiatry, psychology, criminology, and sociology. This book was originally published as two special issues of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.

New Horizons in Forensic Psychotherapy: Exploring the Work of Estela V. Welldon, edited by the author, contains many rich contributions by some of Welldon's most distinguished former students and proteges. The book consists of important chapters on the creative ways in which colleagues have utilised and expanded upon Welldon's work in the field of forensic psychotherapy in a variety of settings, including in hospitals, prisons, community mental health clinics, and, also, in private practice.

Group therapy for patients with psychotic experiences is one of the least known of the group therapies; it is also one of the most diverse. This collection presents a range of methods, models and settings for group therapy for psychoses, as well as exploring the context for this type of treatment. Group Therapy for Psychoses offers an international perspective on the current range of practice in the field, in multiple care situations, contexts and institutions; from acute units to therapeutic communities, rehabilitation groups, self-help, and groups of those who hear voices. Presented in two parts, the first covers the history, evaluation and research methodologies of group therapy, while the second explores specific examples of groups and settings. The book tackles misconceptions about the treatment of psychoses and emphasises the healing effects of group therapy. It underscores the importance of training for selecting and conducting groups of patients suffering from psychoses and suggests possible formats, approaches and perspectives. The book’s wide, reflexive and practical collection of chapters together demonstrate how group therapies can effectively help patients with psychotic experiences to overcome their difficulties on their way to recovery. The book will be of great use to clinicians working with people suffering from psychosis, including psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, psychologists, physicians and social workers. It will also appeal to group analysts, family therapists and CBT practitioners, as well as to all researchers in these fields.

Forensic Psychiatry has expanded over the last twenty years with a dramatic increase in forensic psychiatry posts and medium secure unit beds. There has been increased concern with the treatment, which is seen by many to be of great importance, and management of mentally ill offenders which has led to more interest in understanding.

From the ‘nothing works’ maxim of the 1970s to evidence-based interventions to challenge recidivism and promote pro-social behavior, psychological therapy has played an important role in rehabilitation and risk reduction within forensic settings in recent years. And yet the typical group therapy model isn’t always the appropriate path to take. In this important new book, the aims and effectiveness of individual therapies within forensic settings, both old and new, are assessed and discussed. Including contributions from authors based in the UK, North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, a broad range of therapies are covered, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mentalisation Based Therapy, Schema Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Compassion Focussed Therapy. Each chapter provides: an assessment of the evidence base for effectiveness; the adaptations required in a forensic setting; whether the therapy is aimed at recidivism or psychological change; the client or patient characteristics it is aimed at; a case study of the therapy in action. The final section of the book looks at ethical issues, the relationship between individual and group-based treatment, therapist supervision and deciding which therapies and therapists to select. This book is essential reading for probation staff, psychologists, criminal justice and liaison workers and specialist treatment staff. It will also be a valuable resource for any student of forensic or clinical psychology.