Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Forensic Practice, Volume 15, Issue 2
Welcome to the most recent issue of the Journal of Forensic Practicewhich benefits from papers covering the diverse nature of forensic practice and also including a number of international contributions. The papers also relate to forensic clients and staffing groups, starting with an invited paper by Roy Baumeister on the topic of self-control and willpower.
Professor Baumeister’s invited paper clearly links theory to forensic practice, outlining ways in which decades of research can inform the work of forensic practitioners. He outlines a range of literature bases and notes how low self-control is an important contributor to violence and antisocial behaviour. In this paper, the concepts of self-control and willpower are explored, and strategies for improving self-control amongst forensic clients are considered as a means of reducing stress, crime, and recidivism. The notion of self-control and willpower being resources that deplete after use is presented,particularly in terms of leaving the person vulnerable to self-control failure and engaging in poor decision making. As such, the paper reflects the value of promoting self-control in children and young adults with a view to achieving benefits for individuals in addition to society at large. The practice-based nature of the paper acts as a prompt for practitioners with regards to individual intervention and assessment work, providing important considerations that have clear implications for forensic practice.
The following paper by Kerry Ferguson and colleagues explores disclosure strategies in a group of adult male prisoners convicted for violent and acquisitive offences through the development of a self-report measure(disclosure management questionnaire: DMQ). The paper also considers the association between disclosure strategies, personality and self-esteem. The findings outline the relationship between personality traits and the DMQ subscales, with interesting findings relating to levels of self-esteem and disclosure strategies. This paper again has practical utility in regards to understanding the nature and function of disclosure, providing valuable knowledge and alternative ways of supporting forensic clients in discussing difficult issues related to their offending.
Alisha Walker and colleague’s paper then investigates staff and patients understanding of the function of community day leaves (CDLs) in an Australian forensic mental health hospital, further considering how recovery principles are enacted. They found that both staff and patients had similar overall understandings of the function of CDLs and a number of recovery principles were practiced to various degrees. The findings demonstrate the complexity of the escorting staffs’ role in CDLs and note the requirement for guidelines and staff training on how to facilitate leave from a recovery perspective. In addition, the requirement for more collaborative planning and preparation regarding the individual purpose of the leave is outlined, in addition to suggestions for future research.
Simeon Sender-Galloway and Tom Clark’s paper then focuses on problematic substance use among the community patients of a forensic psychiatry service. They investigate the prevalence and correlates of problematic substance use among the sample taken from one regional forensic psychiatric service. The findings indicate that current problematic substance use was associated with a range of negative outcomes in terms of illness severity, compliance with treatment, and psychosocial functioning. Whilst the results may not be generalised to services in different areas, or those with different models of service provision, a number of implications for practice are outlined. Notably,an integrated treatment approach is considered necessary for this group, in addition to community forensic psychiatric services ensuring that there is adequately resourced and organised provision to meet this large need.
The final two papers in this issue focus on staff groups working in forensic settings. The first paper by Ashlee Curtis and Andrew Day considers changes to the psychology profession in Australia in recent years and investigates those attitudes and values that might be associated with the specialism of forensic psychology. The authors report that exposure to specialist training in forensic psychology may not be directly associated with organisational commitment,membership or stress. In regards to the recruitment of psychologists to work in prison settings the paper outlines the value of assessing the values and beliefs that underpin their professional identity and which are likely to guide their thinking, actions, and interactions at work. It is proposed that specialist training in forensic psychology cannot in itself be assumed to lead to the development of a particular professional identity and as such, the paper concludes that there is a need for those involved in training psychologists to develop a professional identity that is likely to be compatible with the needs and values of the organisation.
The final paper in this issue is by Kate Robertson and colleagues and focuses on the evaluation of staff training within the trauma and self-injury (TASI)programme of a high secure forensic mental health setting for female clients in the UK. Given the reported prevalence of trauma and self-injury amongst this client group, the paper considers the effectiveness of specialised training offered to staff dealing with trauma and self-injury. The impact of the training is discussed using mixed methods of analysis outlining an increased level of confidence in working with trauma and self-injury following training. Furthermore, an interesting finding was in staff members’ increased ability to ask for support. Although this paper outlines a relatively short training package for staff, the findings are encouraging with regards to the potential impact of such training in improving staff confidence, understanding and competence in working the identified client group.
Carol A. Ireland, Neil Gredecki
