Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:01:07.609Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3.4 - Forensic Mental Health Assessments

from Part III - Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2021

By
Derek Perkins  and
Susannah Hughes
Edited by
Jennifer M. Brown  and
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Jennifer M. Brown
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Affiliation:
University of Suffolk
Get access

Summary

Forensic mental health is the interface between mental disorder and the courts and embraces a wide range of risk and clinical need assessments related to medical, psychological and social therapies. This chapter describes the nature and purposes of forensic mental health assessments in different settings (community, prison, hospital) and at different stages in mentally disordered offenders’ pathways to recovery (assessments at court, inpatient treatment, imprisonment and transitions to the community). It sets out assessment aims and the methods used to address these; outlines the main forensic mental health diagnostic systems (DSM-V and ICD-10); and overviews the complementary uses of systematic file review, clinical interviews, behavioural observations, psychometric assessments, structured professional judgement tools and mental disorder diagnoses. It illustrates the interplay between all these issues with two composite case studies at two stages of the individual’s progress, namely at court and at the transition from secure care to the community.

Keywords

ForensicPsychologicalDisorderOffendingAssessment
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology , pp. 388 - 417
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adshead, G. (2001). Murmurs of discontent: Treatment and treatability of personality disorder. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 7(6), 407–415. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.7.6.407Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Author.Google Scholar
Babchishin, K. M., Nunes, K. L., & Hermann, C. A. (2013). The Validity of the implicit association test (IAT) measures of sexual attraction to children: A meta-analysis. Archives of Sex Behaviour, 42(3), 487–99.Google Scholar
Banse, R., Schmidt, A. F., & Clarbour, J. (2010). Indirect measures of sexual interest in child sex offenders: A multimethod approach. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37(3), 319–335.Google Scholar
Baron-Cohen, S., Jolliffe, T., Mortimore, C., Robertson, M. (1997). Another advanced test of theory of mind: Evidence from very high functioning adults with autism or Asperger syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(7), 813–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(2), 241–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S, Robinson, J., & Woodbury-Smith, M. (2006). The Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA): A diagnostic method. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 35(6), 807–819.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. K. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory–II. Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Bernstein, D. P., Stein, J. A., Newcomb, M. D., Walker, E., Pogge, D., Ahluvalia, T., Stokes, J., Handelsman, L., Medrano, M., Desmond, D., & Zule, W. (2003). Development and validation of a brief screening version of the childhood trauma questionnaire. Child Abuse and Neglect, 27(2), 169–190.Google Scholar
Birchwood, M., Gilbert, P., Gilbert, J., Trower, P., Meaden, A., Hay, J., Murray, E., & Miles, J. N. V. (2004). Interpersonal and role-related schema influence the relationship with the dominant ‘voice’ in schizophrenia: A comparison of three models. Journal of Psychological Medicine, 34, 1571–1580.Google Scholar
Blackburn, R. (1998). Criminality and the interpersonal circle in mentally disordered offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 25(2), 155–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackburn, R., Logan, C., Donnelly, J., & Renwick, S. (2003). Personality disorders, psychopathy and other mental disorders: Co-morbidity among patients at English and Scottish high-security hospitals. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 14(1), 111–137.Google Scholar
Blackburn, R., Logan, C., Renwick, S., & Donnelly, J. (2005). Higher-order dimensions of personality disorder: Hierarchical structure and relationships with the five-factor model, the interpersonal circle, and psychopathy. Journal of Personality Disorders, 19(6), 597–623.Google Scholar
Blackburn, R., & Renwick, S. J. (1996). Rating scales for measuring the interpersonal circle in forensic psychiatric patients. Psychological Assessment, 8(1), 76–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blom-Cooper, Sir L., Brown, M., Dolan, R., & Murphy, E. (1992). Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Complaints about Ashworth Hospital, Cmnd 2028, vols 1 and 2 (Chairman: Sir Louis Blom-Cooper). HMSO.Google Scholar
Boer, D. P., Tough, S., & Haaven, J. (2004). Assessment of risk manageability of intellectual disabled sex offenders. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 17(4), 275–283.Google Scholar
Boer, D. P., Wilson, R. J., Gauthier, C. M., & Hart, S. D. (1997). Manual for the Sexual Violence Risk – 20: Professional guidelines for assessing risk of sexual violence. British Columbia Institute Against Family Violence.Google Scholar
Briere, J. (2011). Trauma Symptom Inventory–2 (TSI–2). Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Bruce, T. (2015). The DSM-5 definition of mental disorder: Critique and alternatives. Critical Thinking in Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis, 9(64), 45–68.Google Scholar
Burt, M. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(2), 217–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butcher, J. N., Graham, J. R., Ben-Porath, Y. S., Tellegen, A., Dahlstrom, W. G., & Kaemmer, B. (2001). Manual for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2. University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Cappai, A., Wells, J., Tapp, J., et al. (2017). Substance misuse in personality disorder and schizophrenia: findings and clinical implications from a high secure hospital. The Journal of Forensic Practice, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-07–2016–0035Google Scholar
Chadwick, P., Lees, S., Birchwood, M. (2000). The revised Beliefs About Voices Questionnaire (BAVQ-R). British Journal of Psychiatry, 177(3), 229–232.Google Scholar
Collins, N. (2020). The use of polygraph test in clinical forensic psychiatry setting. In Igoumenou, A. (Ed.), Ethical issues in clinical forensic psychiatry (pp. 85–96). Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daffern, M., Jones, L., & Shine, J. (2010). Wiley series in forensic clinical psychology. Offence paralleling behaviour: A case formulation approach to offender assessment and intervention. Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Davidson, M., Humphreys, M. S., Johnstone, E. C., & Cunningham Owens, D. G. (1995). Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among remand prisoners in Scotland. British Journal of Psychiatry, 167, 545–548.Google Scholar
Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. JSAS Catalogue of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10(85). www.sjdm.org/dmidi/Interpersonal_Reactivity_Index.htmlGoogle Scholar
Dean, C., & Perkins, D. (2008). Penile plethysmography. Prison Service Journal, 178, 20–25.Google Scholar
de Vogel, V., de Ruiter, C., Bouman, Y., & de Vries, R. (2009). SAPROF: Guidelines for the assessment of protective factors for violence risk (English version). Forum Educatief.Google Scholar
DiGiuseppe, R., & Tafrate, R. C. (2004). The Anger Disorder Scale: Technical manual. Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Douglas, K. S., Hart, S. D., Webster, C. D., et al. (2013). Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20, Version 3 (HCR-20V3): Development and Overview. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 13(2), 93–108.Google Scholar
D’Zurilla, T., Nezu, A., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (2002). Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Revised (SPSI-R): Manual. Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Edworthy, R., Sampson, S., & Vollm, B. (2016). Inpatient forensic-psychiatric care: Legal frameworks and service provision in three European countries. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 47, 18–27.Google Scholar
Eke, A. W., Helmus, L. M., & Seto, M. C. (2019). A Validation Study of the Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool (CPORT). Sexual Abuse, 31(4), 456–476.Google Scholar
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1993).?Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R)?[Database record]. APA PsycTests. https://doi.org/10.1037/t05461-000Google Scholar
First, M. B., & Gibbon, M. (2004). The structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis I disorders (SCID-I) and the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis II disorders (SCID-II). In Hilsenroth, M. & Segalaniel, D. L. (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychological assessment: Vol. 2. Personality assessment (pp. 134–143). John Wiley.Google Scholar
Gudjonsson, G. H., & Singh, K. K. (1989). The revised Gudjonsson blame attribution inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 10(1), 67–70.Google Scholar
Hammond, S. M., & O’Rourke, M. M. (2004) Developing a psychometric model of risk. Issues in Forensic Psychology, 5, 100–114.Google Scholar
Hanson, R. K. (1997). The development of a brief actuarial risk scale for sexual offense recidivism (User Report No. 97–04). Department of the Solicitor General of Canada.Google Scholar
Hanson, R. K., Bourgon, G., Mcgrath, R, Kroner, D., et al. (2017). A five-level risk and needs system: Maximizing assessment results in corrections through the development of a common language. http://saratso.org/pdf/A_Five_Level_Risk_and_Needs_System_Report.pdfGoogle Scholar
Hanson, R. K., & Morton-Bourgon, K. E. (2005). The characteristics of persistent sexual offenders: A meta-analysis of recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(6), 1154 –1163.Google Scholar
Hanson, R. K., & Scott, H. (1995). Assessing perspective taking among sexual offenders, nonsexual criminals and non-offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 7, 259–277.Google Scholar
Hanson, R. K., & Thornton, D. (2000). Improving risk assessment for sexual offenders: A comparison of three actuarial scales. Law and Human Behaviour, 24(1), 119–136.Google Scholar
Hare, R. D. (2003). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (2nd ed.). Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Harper, C. A., Bartels, R. M., & Hogue, T. E. (2016). Reducing stigma and punitive attitudes toward pedophiles through narrative humanization. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 30(5), 533–555.Google Scholar
Hart, S., Douglas, K. S., & Guy, L. (2016). The structured professional judgment approach to violence risk assessment: Origins, nature, and advances. In Craig, L. & Rettenberger, M. (Eds.), The Wiley handbook on the theories, assessment, treatment of sexual offending (Vol. 2, pp. 643–666). John Wiley.Google Scholar
Hart, S., Kropp, P. R., & Laws, D. R.; with Klaver, J., Logan, C, & Watt, K. A. (2003). The Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP): Structured professional guidelines for assessing risk of sexual violence. The Institute Against Family Violence.Google Scholar
Heather, N., & Rollnick, S. (1993). Readiness to Change Questionnaire: User’s manual. University of New South Wales.Google Scholar
Hogue, T., Wesson, C., & Perkins, D. (2016). Eye tracking and assessing sexual interests in forensic contexts. In Boer, D. P. (Ed.), Theories, assessment and treatment of sexual offending. John Wiley.Google Scholar
Home Office/Department of Health. (1986). Offenders suffering from a psychopathic disorder: A joint DHSS/HO consultation document. Home Office/Department of Health.Google Scholar
Johnstone, L., & Dallos, R. (Eds.). (2014). Formulation in psychology and psychotherapy: Making sense of people’s problems (2nd ed.). RoutledgeGoogle Scholar
Jones, L. (2004). Offence paralleling behaviour (OPB) as a framework for assessment and interventions with offenders. In Needs, A. & Towl, G. (Eds.), Applying psychology to forensic practice (pp. 34–63). Blackwell.Google Scholar
Kropp, P. R., Hart, S. D., Webster, C. W., & Eaves, D. (1995). Manual for the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide (2nd ed.). Institute on Family Violence.Google Scholar
Loranger, A. W., Janca, A., & Sartorius, N. (1997). Assessment and diagnosis of personality disorders: The ICD-10 Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Maden, A. (2007). Dangerous and severe personality disorder: Antecedents and origins. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 49(49), 8–11.Google Scholar
Markham, S. (2020). Collaborative risk assessment in secure and forensic mental health settings in the UK. General Psychiatry, 33, 1–6.Google Scholar
McDonald, S., Flanagan, S., Rollins, J., & Kinch, J. (2003). TASIT: A new clinical tool for assessing social perception after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 18(3), 219–238.Google Scholar
Mental Health Act. (2007). Amendments to Mental Health Act 1983. www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/12/contentsGoogle Scholar
Mezzich, J. E. (2002). International surveys on the use of ICD-10 and related diagnostic systems. Psychopathology, 35, 72–75.Google Scholar
Millon, T., Grossman, S., & Millon, C. (2015). Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory–IV manual. Pearson Assessments.Google Scholar
Morey, L. C. (2004). The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). In Maruish, M. E. (Ed.), The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcomes assessment: Instruments for adults (pp. 509–551). Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Murphy, L., Gottfried, E., Dimario, K., Perkins, D, & Fedoroff, P. (2020). Use of penile plethysmography in the court: A review of practices in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 38(2), 79–99.Google Scholar
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2009). Borderline personality disorder: Treatment and management (NICE Guideline No. 78). www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg78Google Scholar
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2013). Antisocial personality disorder: Prevention and management (NICE Guideline No. 77). www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg77Google Scholar
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2016). Mental health problems in people with learning disabilities: Prevention, assessment and management (NICE Guideline No. 54). www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng54Google Scholar
Ó Ciardha, C., Barnoux, M., Alleyne, E., Tyler, N., Mozova, K., & Gannon, T. (2015). Multiple factors in the assessment of firesetters’ fire interest and attitudes. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 20(1), 37–47.Google Scholar
Olver, M. E., Wong, S. C. P., Nicholaichuk, T., & Gordon, A. (2007). The validity and reliability of the Violence Risk Scale – Sexual Offender version: Assessing sex offender risk and evaluating therapeutic change. Psychological Assessment, 19(3), 318–329.Google Scholar
Paulhus, D. L. (1999). Paulhus Deception Scales (PDS): The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding-7 (user’s manual). Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Paulhus, D. L. (2002). Socially desirable responding: The evolution of a construct. In Braun, H., Jackson, D., & Wiley, D. (Eds.), The role of constructs in psychological and educational measurement (pp. 39–69). Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Perkins, D., Farr, C., Romero, J., Kirkpatrick, T., & Ebrahimjee, A. (2015). DSPD ten years on at Broadmoor. The Prison Service Journal, 128, 10–16.Google Scholar
Santtila, P., Mokros, A., Viljanen, K., Koivisto, M., Sandnabba, N. K., Zappalà, A., et al. (2009). Assessment of sexual interest using a choice reaction time task and priming: A feasibility study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(5), 1081–1090.Google Scholar
Schmidt, A. F., & Perkins, D. E. (2020). Using the Explicit and Implicit Sexual Interest Profile (EISIP) in applied forensic or clinical contexts. In Akerman, G., Perkins, D., & Bartels, R. (Eds.), Assessing and managing problematic sexual interests. Routledge.Google Scholar
Seto, M. C., & Eke, A. W. (2015). Predicting recidivism among adult male child pornography offenders: Development of the Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool (CPORT). Law Human Behaviour, 39(4), 416–429.Google Scholar
Smith, G. P. (1997). Assessment of malingering with self-report instruments. In Rogers, R. (Ed.), Clinical assessment of malingering and deception (pp. 351–370). Guilford.Google Scholar
Snowden, R. J., Wichter, J., & Gray, N. S. (2008). Implicit and explicit measurements of sexual preference in gay and heterosexual men: A comparison of priming techniques and the Implicit Association Task. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 37(4), 558–565.Google Scholar
Spielberger, D. C. (1999). STAXI-2 state trait anger expression inventory-2, professional manual. PAR.Google Scholar
Stephens, S., Seto, M. C., Cantor, J. M., & Lalumière, M. L. (2019). The Revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI-2) may be a measure of pedohebephilia. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 16(10), 1655–1663.Google Scholar
Tennent, G., Tennent, D., Prins, H., & Bedford, A. (1993). Is psychopathic disorder a treatable condition? Medicine, Science and the Law, 33(1), 63–66.Google Scholar
Thornton, D. (2002). Constructing and testing a framework for dynamic risk assessment. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 14(2), 139–153.Google Scholar
Thornton, D., Mann, R., Webster, S., Blud, L., Travers, R., Friendship, C., & Erikson, M. (2003). Distinguishing and combining risks for sexual and violent recidivism. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 989, 225–235; discussion 236–246.Google Scholar
Tyrer, P., Mulder, R., Crawford, M., Newton-Howes, G., Simonsen, E., Ndetei, D., Koldobsky, N., Fossati, A., Mbatia, J., & Barrett, B. (2010). Personality disorder: A new global perspective. World Psychiatry, 9(1), 56–60.Google Scholar
Walker, J. S. (2005). The Maudsley Violence Questionnaire: Initial validation and reliability. Personality and Individual Differences, 38(1), 187–201.Google Scholar
Walters, G. D. (1995). The psychological inventory of criminal thinking styles. Part I-III: Reliability and preliminary validity. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 22, 307–325.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (2010). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (4th ed.). Pearson Assessment.Google Scholar
Weschler, D. (2010). Wechsler Memory Scale (4th ed.). Pearson.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (2011). Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (2011). Test of Premorbid Functioning. UK version (TOPF UK). Pearson Assessment.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (2016). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition. Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wong, S. C. P., Olver, M. E., Nicholaichuk, T. P., & Gordon, A. (2003). Violence Risk Scale: Sexual Offender Version (VRS-SO). Regional Psychiatric Centre and University of Saskatchewan.Google Scholar
World Health Organization. (1992). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Young, J. E., & Brown, G. (1990). Young Schema Questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy Center of New York.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×