Mentally disordered offenders: The need for integration and the smart design of services

Abstract

Following the extensive closure of mental hospitals, it has been anticipated that even those with severe mental illness could be housed in ordinary group settings or within the community. Regarding mentally disordered offenders, the burning issue is one of breaking the 'institutional cycle' and helping them to readjust to community life. Community mental healthcare services are presently being implemented in various countries. Despite this trend, there remains a need for a platform where decision makers from different professions can come together, exchange information and work out treatment plans. New holistic approaches should therefore be based on closer collaboration between the mental healthcare sector and the social service sector. This paper will discuss three intermediate rehabilitation settings, conceptualised at the end of 2007 within a project launched by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. A more unified and far-reaching integration of systems and services will be required to secure treatment and rehabilitation in the community for mentally disordered offenders. Moreover, the efficacy of any tentative model should be followed up by quantitative and qualitative research.