Serving Mentally Ill Offenders

This comprehensive book addresses the complex issues associated with the criminalization of mentally ill offenders in the United States and the ways in which social workers and other mental health professionals can best channel their efforts to create better services and treatment. Specialists in law enforcement, community-based mental health and outreach, the legal community, the corrections environment, and substance abuse providers present best practices and programs that offer rehabilitation alternatives to mentally ill offenders. Unique to this volume is the perspective provided by key players of the criminal justice system including a judge, a prosecutor, an advocate, a defense attorney, and a mentally ill offender. The last section provides in-depth research into the challenges of placing the dually-diagnosed offender into alternative-to-incarceration programs.

This volume addresses the complex issues associated with the criminalization of mentally ill offenders in the United States and the ways in which mental health professionals can best channel their efforts to create better services and treatment. (Midwest).

Contributors to this volume present and discuss new data which suggest that major mental disorder substantially increases the risk of violent crime. These findings come at a crucial time, since those who suffer from mental disorders are increasingly living in the community, rather than in institutions. The book describes the magnitude and complexity of the problem and offers hope that humane, effective intervention can prevent violent crime being committed by the seriously mentally disordered.

This revised and updated edition of Care of the Mentally Disordered Offender in the Community provides a comprehensive, evidence-based guide to theory and practice. The social and clinical context within which mental health care is provided to offenders in community settings has changed significantly in recent years. An increasing proportion of all mental health care is provided in the community and our knowledge of the links between violence and mental illness has advanced. Existing psychological and pharmacological treatments have been refined and new treatments have been introduced. Epidemiological and intervention-based research has evaluated these changes and suggested new avenues for clinical development. Over three sections, the second edition of Care of the Mentally Disordered Offender in the Community explores the key areas of the field. Part 1 describes the social, administrative and clinical context within which care is now given. Part 2 discusses treatment and the evaluation of violence risk when determining the most appropriate treatment. Part 3 explores psychiatric services and their relationship with other agencies. The text has been updated to cover recent developments in theory and practice. New chapters have been added that cover US provision for people with mental disorders leaving prison, the community management of sexual offenders, the relationship between care and coercion and the treatment of personality disorders. Written by a global team of experts, the book provides critical insights into the social, clinical, and institutional aspects of an increasingly important part of psychiatric community care.

Get the latest research on juvenile offenders who have a mental illness Most youths in the juvenile justice system who have one or more mental disorders do not receive proper treatment or education, nor do they serve sentences appropriate for their crimes. Juvenile Offenders and Mental Illness: I Know Why the Caged Bird Cries takes a detailed look at the latest theories and empirically based information on the causal and recidivism problems youths with mental disorders face in the juvenile justice system. Respected experts comprehensively discuss the range of problems found in the assessment of mentally ill juvenile offenders and offer practical, effective treatment solutions. Juvenile Offenders and Mental Illness explains the cost-effective methodologies and presents the latest data on recidivism rates and occurrences of depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and/or alcohol or substance abuse disorder among delinquent adolescents. Research studies also include data gleaned from the application of the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and other scales and surveys on participants. Other topics include revealing data on the prevalence of lifetime use of Ecstasy (MDMA) and its effects; female shoplifting and its relationship to mental illness; incidence of trauma exposure in incarcerated youth; and strategies to enhance the effectiveness of interventions. The book includes helpful tables to clearly illustrate empirical data and provides detailed references for each chapter. Juvenile Offenders and Mental Illness provides the freshest research and insightful discussion on: adolescent stalking depression ADHD alcohol/substance abuse disorders Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Ecstasy (MDMA) use and its association with symptoms of anxiety or depression the impact of mental health treatment intensity on the emotional and behavioral problems of youth in a treatment facility shoplifting by female teens behavioral problems and suicide-tendency in youths who have been sexually abused or traumatized effective prevention and the reduction of violence by at-risk adolescents Juvenile Offenders and Mental Illness: I Know Why the Caged Bird Cries provides vital research data and treatment options for social workers, forensic psychologists, and those working in the juvenile justice system.

In the past forensic psychiatry has been a sub-speciality of general psychiatry without its own, separate identity. However, since the mid-1980s there has been a growing in terest in the application of community care principles to mentally disordered offenders. A new set of attitudes have developed which have enabled the mentally disordered offender to emerge from relative institutional obscurity to a much higher profile in the community. Although numerically small in relation to the general psychiatric population, forensic patients tend to attract the public' s attention by virtue of their greater propensity for troublesome behaviour. Such a group needs expert community support in order to maintain an accepta bie public face. Unfortunately these developments have outstripped the creation of training opportunities for community staff charged with their support and supervision. Most community practi tioners have had to learn 'on the job' with inadequate support and supervision from senior staff, who of ten have less direct experience of working with this client group than themselves. Just such a situation prompted the authors, in 1990, to establish a module on 'Working with Mentally Disordered Offenders in the Community' as part of an MA in Social W ork at the University of Reading. As the course developed it became clear that the topic and content had equal application to other community professionals working in the field.

Spotlights the important moment in recovery when an offender who has received substance use disorder treatment while incarcerated is released into the community. Provides guidelines for ensuring continuity of care for the offender client. Treatment providers must collaborate with parole officers & others who supervise released offenders. This report explains how these & other members of a transition team can share records, develop sanctions, & coordinate relapse prevention so that treatment gains made insideÓ are not lost. Presents specific treatment guidelines to long-term medical conditions, & sex offenders.