Abstract
Violence risk assessment tools in forensic psychiatry have traditionally solely been focused on risk factors. Recently, positive psychology inspired a more strengths-based approach to treatment and sparked an innovation in the assessment of violence risk: the introduction of protective factors. The Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk (SAPROF) was developed to complement violence risk assessment with an assessment of protective factors. In this article, clinical experiences with the use of protective factors in forensic practice are described and empirical findings on incorporating protective factors in the risk assessment procedure are discussed. The results of this study underline the value of protective factors for a balanced and more accurate violence risk assessment and exemplify their potential in guiding treatment planning, evaluating treatment progress and improving positive risk management strategies.
Highlights
Positive psychology has inspired an innovative direction for treatment in general psychiatry and in forensic psychiatry
Positive factors have traditionally been addressed in most treatment efforts, the notion that these positive factors can act as protective factors for violence risk in forensic psychiatric patients is relatively new
Given the lack of a suitable protective factors assessment tool which could be used in accordance with the most commonly used forensic assessment tools for risk factors with a medium-term time-frame (i.e., the Historical Clinical Risk management-20 (HCR-20); Webster, Douglas, Eaves, & Hart, 1997), the SAPROF was developed
Summary
Positive psychology has inspired an innovative direction for treatment in general psychiatry and in forensic psychiatry. Strengths-based approaches are eagerly being adopted by clinicians seeking hopeful and positive alternatives for the gloomy vision of the risk-only approach Inspired by this new direction in (forensic) psychology, over the past decade clinicians and researchers in forensic psychiatry have increasingly focused on positive and changeable treatment related issues. Positive factors have traditionally been addressed in most treatment efforts, the notion that these positive factors can act as protective factors for violence risk in forensic psychiatric patients is relatively new. Linking this positive preventive approach to a structured evaluation of personal and situational strengths in risk assessment was virtually non-existing before the turn of the century. The benefits of protective factors for the risk assessment and treatment of forensic psychiatric patients will be described
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