The Use of Therapeutic Assessment with Forensic Populations: Practitioners' Perspectives

Therapeutic Assessment is a semi-structured approach to collaborative assessment developed by Stephen E. Finn and colleagues. In Therapeutic Assessment, psychological assessment is used as a therapeutic intervention (Finn, 2007; Finn & Kamphuis, 2006). The Therapeutic Assessment model differs from traditional assessment with regard to procedure and the roles of both assessor and client. Therapeutic Assessment has yet to be explored in forensic settings, wherein assessors are required to take on a number of varying and conflicting roles. In the current study, five forensic psychologists completed a semi-structured interview to identify their perspectives of Therapeutic Assessment and its utility in forensic contexts. A phenomenological qualitative analysis of the interviews was conducted to derive themes about Therapeutic Assessment, forensic psychology, and the overlap between these two domains. General themes that emerged include (a) the role and the context of the practitioner's work with the forensic population; (b) the potential of using Therapeutic Assessment's paradigm in family law settings; and (c) the increased risk of harm when using Therapeutic Assessment with forensic populations. In addition to these themes, multiple respondents discussed components of collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment that they have found useful with this population. Finally, the implications of these results are discussed.

Psychology and Social Work: Applied Perspectives

Successful social work practice is underpinned by knowledge, theories and research findings from a range of related disciplines, key amongst which is psychology. This timely book offers a grounded and engaging guide to psychology s vital role at the heart of contemporary social work practice. The book skilfully addresses some of the central theoretical developments in psychology from an applied perspective, and explains how these make essential contributions to the methods and theory base of social work in ways that foster critical evaluation and promote best practice. Written by two authors with extensive backgrounds in psychology and social work respectively as well as a deep understanding of the intersections of the two this book delivers a unique synthesis of perspectives and approaches, focusing on their application to the lives of individuals and families. Each chapter contains reflective points and case studies based on contemporary practice realities which are related to the Professional Capabilities Framework for Social Workers and also to the Health and Care Professions Council s Standards of Proficiency. Times have never been more challenging for social work and this book will be an invaluable source of professional support within the ever-more complex psychological worlds where social work takes place. Table of Contents 1. Introduction: The place of psychological knowledge and research in social work training and practice 2. Signposts from Developmental Psychology on Human Development over the Life Course 3. Perspectives from Clinical and Counselling Psychology on Mental Health and Illness 4. Perspectives from Social and Community Psychology: Understanding values, attitudes, diversity and community change 5. Health Psychology: Understanding health, illness, stress and addiction 6. Organizational Psychology: Understanding the individual and the organization in the social work structure 7. Forensic Psychology: Understanding criminal behaviour and working with victims of crime 8. Conclusion References Index

Correctional psychology and the desistance paradigm: commentary for the special issue of Criminal justice and behavior

Let me begin this commentary by suggesting that many of the ideas contained in this special issue will be important to the future of correctional psychology. Although each of the authors offer different perspectives on the role that the criminal justice system has to play in the process of desistance from crime, they all identify the importance of a valueoriented analysis to effective offender rehabilitation. Their focus is on promoting desistance at all points of the justice process; from how the legal system can promote therapeutic outcomes through to the provision of post-release support services and the need for community engagement. By approaching the tasks of both rehabilitation and reintegration from a values perspective, they have been able to identify a range of novel and innovative approaches that have the potential to make a real difference. Even more encouragingly, these draw on resources that may already be available to correctional psychologists and yet are often underutilized. In addition, the confidence, and indeed the optimism, expressed in these articles provides a refreshing counter to suggestions that contemporary correctional practice has become pre-occupied with the need to “manage” offenders and for professionals to focus on fulfilling their administrative obligations (see Hardy, 2014).

Development and preliminary validation of the Drinking Expectancy Sexual Vulnerabilities Questionnaire (DESV-Q): A purpose-specific instrument for rape-perception research

Background Alcohol expectancies likely play a role in people’s perceptions of alcohol-involved sexual violence. However, no appropriate measure exists to examine this link comprehensively. Objective The aim of this research was to develop an alcohol expectancy measure which captures young adults’ beliefs about alcohol’s role in sexual aggression and victimization. Method Two cross-sectional samples of young Australian adults (18–25 years) were recruited for scale development (Phase 1) and scale validation (Phase 2). In Phase 1, participants (N = 201; 38.3% males) completed an online survey with an initial pool of alcohol expectancy items stated in terms of three targets (self, men, women) to identify the scale’s factor structure and most effective items. A revised alcohol expectancy scale was then administered online to 322 young adults (39.6% males) in Phase 2. To assess the predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity of the scale, participants also completed established measures of personality, social desirability, alcohol use, general and context-specific alcohol expectancies, and impulsiveness. Results Principal axis factoring (Phase 1) and confirmatory factor analysis (Phase 2) resulted in a target-equivalent five-factor structure for the final 66-item Drinking Expectancy Sexual Vulnerabilities Questionnaire (DESV-Q). The factors were labeled: - (1) Sexual Coercion - (2) Sexual Vulnerability - (3) Confidence - (4) Self-Centeredness - (5) Negative Cognitive and Behavioral Changes The measure demonstrated effective items, high internal consistency, and satisfactory predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity. Conclusions The DESV-Q is a purpose-specific instrument that could be used in future research to elucidate people’s attributions for alcohol-involved sexual aggression and victimization.

Assessing suitability for offender rehabilitation : development and validation of the treatment readiness questionnaire

Although the need to assess appropriate candidates for offender rehabilitation programs is widely acknowledged, few assessment tools are available that have been validated for use with offender populations. This article reports on the development and validation of a brief self-report measure designed to assess treatment readiness in offenders who have been referred to a cognitive skills program. The measure, the Corrections Victoria Treatment Readiness Questionnaire, displayed acceptable levels of convergent and discriminant validity, and was able to predict treatment engagement and treatment performance at the midpoint of the program. Suggested cutoff points are reported for use in assessing offenders for this type of program. It is concluded that the measure can play a valuable role in the assessment of offenders who are being considered for rehabilitative treatment.

Ethical practice from the perspective of the forensic psychologist : commentary on the uses and value of the Australian Psychological Society (2007) code of ethics

Forensic practice in Australia and around the world attracts a high level of public and judicial scrutiny. The way in which the forensic psychologist conducts him or herself in ethically challenging situations is important not only to the reputation of the individual practitioner, but to the profession more widely. This paper outlines some of the ethical issues that commonly arise in forensic psychology practice and discusses these in relation to the recently published Australian Psychological Society (2007) Code of Ethics. Four ethically challenging scenarios are described and discussed in terms of how the Code might be used to offer guidance to psychologists about how they might best respond.

Role of primary / secondary control in positive psychological adjustment

Challenges previous theory regarding the relationship between control and positive psychological health by finding a much greater role for control over peoples' internal emotions in positive psychological adjustment than was previously theorised. Presents a new tool for the measurement of control that realises the adaptive value of control over both the person's external environment and their internal psychological processes.

Examination of the consistency of interviewer performance across three distinct interview contexts

The current study examined the consistency of investigative interviewers' performance (n=31) across three distinct interview paradigms: (a) a mock interview where an adult actor played the role of a child recalling abuse, (b) a mock interview where a school child recalled an innocuous event that was staged at the child's school, and (c) a field interview where the interviewer elicited a statement of abuse from a child. Performance was measured by calculating the proportion of open-ended and leading questions, and by eliciting expert ratings of the presence of a range of problem behaviours commonly exhibited by interviewers. Overall, the performance of individual interviewers was relatively stable across the tasks. Heterogeneity in stability, however, differed according to the type of question and the nature of the event being examined. In particular, the mock interview paradigm where the adult acted the role of an alleged child abuse victim produced a measure of performance that was more similar to the field interview than the interview where a school child recalled an innocuous event. The implications of the findings for trainers, and directions for future research, are discussed.

Good lives model applied to a forensic population

According to the good lives model (GLM) all human beings seek primary goods (i.e., activities or experiences that benefit them) and offending reflects attempts to pursue these goods in ways that are unacceptable to society and damaging to the individual and others. The aim of this article was to explore how the GLM can be developed for use with a forensic population, a heterogeneous group of individuals whose common feature is the interface of the criminal justice and mental health systems. The conceptual, clinical and philosophical implications of using the good lives model of forensic mental health (GLM-FM) are explored. Three case studies are used to illustrate the ways in which the enriched model can provide a holistic approach to conceptualizing offending that occurs in the context of mental illness and in guiding treatment planning. It is suggested that the augmented model provides a clinically flexible and ethically sound framework for formulating treatment issues for forensic patients.

A intersecção da psicologia com a lei: problematizando a psicologia jurídica na prática profissional dos psicólogos

Pós-graduação em Psicologia - FCLAS

Role of Acetylcholine in Control of Sexual Behavior of Male and Female Mammals

The results of studies using systemic or central applications of cholinergic drugs suggest that acetylcholine makes important contributions to the neurochemical control of male- and female-typical reproductive behaviors. In males, cholinergic control seems largely specific to some elements or aspects of copulatory behavior that can vary significantly across species. Synapses in or near the medial preoptic area represent part of this mechanism, but the entire system appears to extend more widely, perhaps especially to one or more structures flanking some part of the lateral ventricle. In females, the lordosis response that essentially defines sexual receptivity is clearly responsive to cholinergic drugs. The same seems likely to be true of other elements of female sexual behavior, but additional studies will be needed to confirm this. Changes in cholinergic activity may help to mediate estrogenic effects on female sexual behavior. However, estrogen exposure can increase or decrease cholinergic effects, suggesting a relationship that is complex and requires further analysis. Also presently unclear is the localization of the cholinergic effects on female sexual responses. Though periventricular sites again have been implicated, their identity is presently unknown. This review discusses these and other aspects of the central cholinergic systems affecting male and female sexual behaviors. Copyright 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intercultural Communication Between Forensic and Clinical Psychologists

While working in clinical and forensic psychology settings, a communication difficulty between the two professions became apparent. Forensic psychologists often appeared cold and callous from the clinical psychologist’s perspective, while clinical psychologists often appeared naïve or too client centered from the forensic psychologist’s perspective. I wondered if viewing each subfield of psychology as a culture could facilitate better communication through intercultural communication. Guided by Intercultural Communication in Contexts (Martin & Nakayama, 2010) in approaching intercultural communication between the two professions, I explored factors contributing to each profession’s cultural identities. Once this was established, I attempted to explore the different ways each culture could communicate more effectively. By recognizing and utilizing the strengths from each profession and understanding the possible pitfalls of one’s own, we may become competent in intercultural communication

On the witness stand [electronic resource] : essays on psychology and crime /

Reproduction of original from Harvard Law School Library.

Case formulation in forensic practice: challenges and opportunities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of current practice in forensic case formulation, describing different approaches and discussing some of the practical and ethical issues that routinely arise. The paper further identifies areas where future practice and research might be strengthened.

Design/methodology/approach – There is only a very small literature to draw upon in reviewing this topic. Therefore a narrative literature review was undertaken, synthesising findings from published, peer-reviewed studies, and papers that addressed case formulation in psychological practice.

Findings – Despite case formation being considered by many to be a core competency of evidence-based forensic practice, it is not currently possible to describe a typical forensic case formulation or advocate for a particular approach to practice.

Practical implications – A number of practical and ethical issues routinely arise in the process of conducting a forensic case formulation. Ultimately, the absence of a consistent approach can lead to lead to poor clinical decision-making and the delivery of inadequate or inappropriate intervention.

Originality/value – This is one of the few discussions of case formulation that have been prepared for forensic practitioners. It is likely to be of interest to readers of the journal given the importance of the formulation process in contemporary forensic practice.

Identifying the presence of psychopathy in the community

Aim: Researchers have suggested that approximately 1% of individuals with psychopathic tendencies can successfully function within the community, although there has been a lack of research to support this claim. The current study aimed to identify individuals with psychopathic tendencies within a community sample and furthermore the socio-demographic correlates of this community integrated psychopath (e.g. relationship stability, substance use, and employment status). Procedure: 300 participants completed the Self-Reported Psychopathy scale – version 3 which contains four core psychopathy subfactors: (a) Interpersonal Manipulation, (b) Callous Affect, (c) Erratic Lifestyle and (d) Criminal Tendencies as well as the Paulhus Deception Scales to explore the effect of impression management and self-deception on the identification of psychopathy. Findings: Results indicated that at least 1% of the current community displayed characteristics consistent with psychopathic tendencies. A series of bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were conducted which indicated that gender, age and alcohol misuse were predictive of psychopathy scores for this sample. More specifically, younger males who tend to misuse alcohol were found to be most likely to have psychopathic tendencies. Interestingly, impression management and self-deception was not associated with such tendencies. Discussion: The results provide some support for the assertion that individuals with psychopathic tendencies can be identified within the community (regardless of impression management techniques) and that such tendencies are associated with specific socio-demographic characteristics.