Conditional discharge: the role of the social supervisor ‐ a preliminary study

Abstract

The process of statutory community aftercare for restricted hospital order service users is acknowledged as successful. Previous research examining the attitudes of forensic psychiatrists to the use of restriction orders has indicated that they view them as a useful clinical tool in some circumstances, particularly where there is evidence of previous breakdown of follow‐up. This study, as part of a larger project examining the effectiveness of statutory community aftercare, focused on the attitudes of social supervisors to the process of conditional discharge and their role within it. The findings showed that social supervisors agree that there are positive and negative aspects to the process. They overwhelmingly agreed that the legal framework ensured that service users continued engagement with psychiatric services, leading to enhanced compliance with treatment and follow‐up, but recognised that, at times, the role, because of its control aspect, created tension in the social worker‐service user relationship. Social supervisors suggested that investment should be made into providing appropriate accommodation for this group of people and, where appropriate, access to drug and alcohol misuse services.