Treatment Alternatives for Mentally Disordered Offenders:A Literature Review

Joshua J Knabb,Marjorie L Graham-Howard,Robert K Welsh

doi:10.4236/psych.2011.22020

Abstract

Over the last few decades, a considerable amount of research has been devoted to mentally disordered offenders, with both theoretical and empirically validated treatments permeating the literature. Due to the recent onslaught of treatment options for MDOs, a synthesis of this literature seems immediately relevant to the field of forensic psychology. The authors review the current status of the treatment literature for both sentenced and nonsentenced MDOs in both inpatient and outpatient settings. An exhaustive search of the available literature on MDO treatment options was conducted. Ten treatment modalities, both theoretical and empirically validated, were summarized, including their theoretical underpinnings, interventions, empirical support, and strengths and weaknesses. Issues surrounding future research are also discussed.

Highlights

The moniker “evidence based” has become synonymous with the acceptable standard of psychological care in facilities that maintain and treat mentally disordered offenders (MDOs)
We provided an overview of the ten treatments located within the MDO literature, focusing on the theoretical underpinnings, interventions, empirical support, and strengths and weaknesses of each treatment
This article attempted to review all of the treatment options in the forensic psychology literature on MDOs in order to provide practitioners with a cursory treatment guide

Summary

Introduction

The moniker “evidence based” has become synonymous with the acceptable standard of psychological care in facilities that maintain and treat mentally disordered offenders (MDOs). Despite the widespread recognition of evidence based treatments, there is a shocking lack of empirical research on which psychological treatments work best for this complex population. This major gap in the research is troubling given the large number of MDOs in correctional and forensic facilities throughout the world. In 2004, one of the authors set out to conduct a meta-analysis on evidence based treatments for MDOs, and found only a handful of research studies suitable for quantitative analysis (Welsh, Ashby, Glassmire, Love, Tavegia, & Warke, 2004). There has been additional research conducted on interventions for MDOs, and new promising treatments have emerged. We provide an updated review of the aforementioned treatments, and discuss new and emerging treatments that hold particular promise for MDOs

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion