Where has all the psychology gone? A critical review of evidence-based psychological practice in correctional settings

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) represents the gold standard for effective clinical psychological practice. In this review, we examine ways in which EBP tenets are being neglected by correctional psychologists worldwide. We examine three key aspects of EBP currently being neglected: (a) individualized and flexible client focus, (b) the therapeutic alliance, and (c) psychological expertise. We also highlight two highly related issues responsible for correctional psychologists' neglect of EBP. The first relates to policy makers' and correctional psychologists' overreliance on the Risk–Need–Responsivity Model to guide correctional practice. We argue that the narrow focus and implementation of this model has resulted in a severe identity problem for correctional psychologists that has severely exacerbated the dual relationship problem. That is, the tension psychologists experience as a result of engaging in psychological practice while also obliging the risk and security policies of correctional systems. The second issue concerns psychologists' response to the dual relationship problem. In short, psychology, as a discipline appears to have acquiesced to the dual-relationship problem. In our view, this constitutes a ‘crisis’ for the discipline of correctional psychology. We offer several recommendations for injecting EBP back into correctional psychology for the individual, psychology as a discipline, and correctional policy makers

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing for offence-related trauma in a mentally disordered sexual offender

Research demonstrates a high incidence of offence-related trauma in mentally disordered offenders convicted of violent and sexual offences. The adaptive information processing (AIP) model offers a theoretical framework for understanding the hypothesised relationship between offence-related trauma and reoffending. Evidence suggests that for a sub-population of offenders presenting with offence-related trauma: (1) therapy may retraumatise them, and (2) unresolved trauma severely blocks the positive benefits of talking therapies. Thus, it is postulated that traumatised violent and sexual offenders may be released into the community when they are still at risk of reoffending. A single case study is presented, which describes the application of eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) for a sexual offender presenting with offence-related trauma, whose offences occurred in the context of serious mental disorder. The identification of offence-related trauma and subsequent resolution of trauma symptomatology are discussed in regard to effective offender rehabilitation. Furthermore, the idiosyncratic nature of offence-related trauma and the application of the standard EMDR protocol for a single traumatic event are considered

A descriptive model of the offence chain for imprisoned adult male firesetters (descriptive model of adult male firesetting)

Purpose: Firesetting has devastating consequences. Although some theoretical efforts have been made to explain firesetting (i.e., a small number of multi- and single-factor theories), little effort has been devoted to understand how deliberate firesetting unfolds across time (i.e., micro or offence chain theories). This research aimed to produce the first descriptive offence chain theory for incarcerated adult male firesetters.Methods: Thirty-eight adult male firesetters—recruited from prison establishments in England and Wales—were interviewed about the events, thoughts and feelings leading up to, surrounding, and immediately following a deliberate incident of firesetting. Results: Using Grounded Theory analysis, the Descriptive Model of Adult male Firesetting (DMAF) was developed documenting the cognitive, behavioural, affective and contextual factors leading to a single incident of deliberate firesetting. Conclusions: New information generated from the DMAF is presented and its contributions to the current evidence base are highlighted. Clinical implications, limitations and future research directions are also discussed

Forensic psychologists should use the behavioural experiment to facilitate cognitive change in clients who have offended

A key technique associated with effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the behavioral experiment (BE). Within mainstream clinical psychology, the overall aim of the BE is to treat clients' problematic beliefs as a set of hypotheses to be tested. In this review, I examine the BE as a treatment technique and argue that widespread implementation of the BE could significantly improve CBT-based forensic psychological practice. I examine contemporary conceptualizations of cognition within forensic psychology as well as commonly used treatment techniques for instilling cognitive change. This analysis highlights that although some experiential techniques are used in forensic psychology to facilitate cognitive change (e.g., schema therapy), there is still a key focus on rational reasoning techniques such as Socratic questioning, psychoeducation, and thought monitoring. In this paper, I argue that current methods of instigating cognitive change within offending populations neglect key strategies necessary to generate convincing cognitive change. I offer the BE as a convincing and effective technique for facilitating change in problematic offender cognition at both the rational and experiential levels. I offer several recommendations for how to design and incorporate BEs into forensic practice and provide examples of BE use in forensic settings

Assessing the Treatment Needs of Sexually Aggressive Male Students at UK Universities

Our studies are the first in the UK to assess empirically the psychological profiles of the most common perpetrators of sexual assault at UK universities: sexually aggressive male students. Study 1 assesses the characteristics and predictors of sexual aggression amongst university males at one UK university, whilst Study 2 evaluates the generalisability of findings across a national sample. Study 3 examines the heterogeneity of self-reported sexually aggressive students to see if they comprised a unique clinical population with shared treatment needs. This poster was also presented at the SeNSS Virtual Summer Conference 2020 (16-17th July)

Empirically Assessing the Effectiveness of The Pathways Programme: An Online Self-Help Intervention for Male Sexual Aggression at UK Universities

Though contemporary evidence suggests that upwards of one-in-nine UK male university students engage in sexually violent behaviours (Hales & Gannon, 2022), few evidence-based primary prevention strategies have been developed to prevent their perpetration. To help contribute to this evidence gap, this study evaluated the short and longer-term effectiveness of a novel psychoeducation-based online self-help intervention for university male sexual aggression called The Pathways Programme. Designed around current empirical understanding of university-based sexual harm in the UK, the programme contains six modules that correspond with known risk factors for perpetration. Data were collected as part of a randomised control trial from 254 self-indentified heterosexual male students enrolled at a UK university who reported a proclivity towards sexual aggression. Results showed that participants who took part in the programme displayed moderate reductions in their self-perceived likelihood of sexual aggression (our primary treatment target) across testing points, as well as reductions in their self-reported levels of hostility towards women, rape myth acceptance, and problematic sexual fantasies (our secondary treatment targets). Control participants also displayed reductions in some domains over time, albeit to a lesser degree. Additional analyses probed the factors associated with participant drop-out, clinical and reliable change, and user feedback. Overall, our study provides preliminary evidence for the efficacy of The Pathways Programme at reducing UK university males’ risk of sexual aggression; however, we caution readers that more robust evaluation is necessary to support intervention rollout. We discuss our findings alongside the limitations of our study and provide suggestions for future research

A practical guide to assessing adult firesetters’ fire-specific treatment needs using the Four Factor Fire Scales

Objective: Practitioners working with offenders who have set fires have access to very few measures examining fire-specific treatment needs (e.g., fire interest, fire attitudes). In this paper, we examine the new Four Factor Fire Scales (Ó Ciardha et al., 2014), which may be used by practitioners to examine fire-specific treatment needs for offenders who have set deliberate fires. We present a standardized scoring procedure when using these scales, as well as an associated scoring template for practitioner use. Method: Norm data are based on male and female firesetters (n=378) and non-firesetters (n=187) recruited from 19 prison establishments (including 6 female establishments, 1 Young Offender Institutions) and 12 secure mixed gender mental health settings. Results: We present a full overview of all data we have collected to date relating to the Four Factor Fire Scales across prison, mental health and young offending participants. For each population, we present mean scores as well as associated cut off scores and reliable change indices to aid practitioners in their interpretation of scores. Conclusions: The Four Factor Fire Scale provides professionals working in the area with a robust template for administering, scoring, and interpreting the fire-specific factors currently identified as playing a role in deliberate firesetting behavior. Strengths and limitations of the measure are discussed