Multidisciplinary Working In Forensic Mental Health Care

This book provides a practical guide to the establishment of effective multidisciplinary working methods in the care of mentally disordered offenders and others. It examines the theoretical basis of multidisciplinary working in a mental health context, provides a practical guide to establishing multidisciplinary working, considers training needs, team building, risk assessment, and gives an overview of research in the field [Ed.].

The first comprehensive account of forensic nursing and its role within the wider professional team, the aim of this book is to provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the training needed to work with mentally disordered patients, as well as to examine the key characteristics of the forensic nursing role. An international group of contributors, from a wide range of disciplines, provides a well-rounded, comparative view of the forensic nursing profession. The chapters are a rich contribution of cross-cultural thinking on the many dilemmas and challenges facing nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and other health care practitioners, working with specific client groups. Each contributor has utilised empirical data to analyse relevant issues, such as: professional standards; effectiveness of preparation for nurses working within secure environments; day to day and long term challenges facing nurses; clinical effectiveness; the dilemma of security versus practice; how forensic nursing differs from other kinds of nursing; and what forensic nurses can contribute to other mental health care disciplines. Examples of how research findings may be integrated into practice, will be of interest not only to forensic nurses, but also to significant sectors of the mental health care field.

Working with Autistic People in the Criminal Justice and Forensic Mental Health Systems: A Handbook for Practitioners is the first book to focus specifically on best practice for working with autistic people in criminal justice and forensic mental health settings. Integrating current theory, research, and clinical practice, this book provides a practical guide for multidisciplinary practitioners working with autistic people who have offended, at all stages in their pathway, regardless of the nature of offending. The book draws together contributions from leading scholarly and clinical experts in the field of autism and forensic issues as well as the views of autistic people under the care of forensic services. Each chapter focuses on understanding the impact of autism throughout the criminal justice and forensic mental health system pathways, including how these systems are experienced by autistic people and their families and carers. Case studies and practical approaches are provided to demonstrate the application of best practice to working with autistic people in secure settings. This book appeals to a wide audience within the fields of psychology, psychiatry, nursing, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, as well as criminal justice staff (e.g., prison and probation), and will be the first of its kind to amalgamate theory, research, and practice in the area of autism and offending.

Secure Recovery is the first text to tackle the challenge of recovery-oriented mental health care in forensic services and prison-based therapeutic communities in the UK. Recovery as an emergent paradigm in the field of mental health presents a challenge to all services to embrace a new clinical philosophy, but nowhere are the implications more profound than in services that are designed to meet the needs of mentally disordered and personality-disordered offenders, both men and women. The chapters collected together in this book represent a cross-section of experiences in high, medium and low secure services and prison-based therapeutic communities in England and Scotland that have begun to implement a recovery orientation to the rehabilitation of offenders with mental health needs. Secure Recovery sets out a road map of guiding principles, practical and evidence-based strategies for promoting service user participation in their care and treatment and further demonstrates the adaption of traditional treatment approaches, and the development of innovations in rehabilitation, as well as tackling training for staff teams, and the evaluation of service delivery. This book provides a valuable resource and an inspiration to practitioners working across forensic mental health settings, increasing understanding of contemporary challenges and suggesting ways of moving forward.

Forensic Mental Health: Framing Integrated Solutions describes a criminal justice–mental health nexus that touches every population—juvenile and adult male and female offenders, probationers and parolees, the aging adult prison population, and victims of crime. In the United States today, the criminal justice system functions as a mental health provider, but at great cost to society. The author summarizes the historical roots of this crisis and provides an overview of mental illness and symptoms, using graphics to illustrate the most prevalent disorders encountered by police and other first responders. Bratina demonstrates in detail how the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) supports integration of the U.S. healthcare and justice systems to offer more positive outcomes for offenders with mental illness. This book takes a multidisciplinary approach, addressing social work, psychology, counseling, and special education, and covers developments such as case-law related to the right to treatment and trauma-informed care. Designed for advanced undergraduates, this text also serves as a training resource for practitioners working with the many affected justice-involved individuals with mental illness, including juveniles, veterans, and substance abusers.

This analysis of the forensic mental health system - how it operates, the people involved, the problems inherent in the system, and the huge ethical dilemmas - brings together a range of specialists, who describe the processes involved in dealing with a mentally disordered offender.