12 research outputs found

    Training needs of counseling trainees in corrections: A survey of clinical directors

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    As the mental health treatment needs of adults and adolescents within the criminal justice system has garnered increasing attention, the training of mental health professionals has increasingly focused on serving individuals in forensic and correctional settings. We surveyed 55 clinical directors of mental health programs in forensic and correctional settings in a New England state. Respondents reported that Clinical Mental Health Counselors (CMHCs) broadly participated in assessment, treatment and supervision within these programs. Counseling experience emerged as the most important knowledge/experience domain for prospective job applicants and CMHCs were rated as providing a large share of the treatment within these settings. Implication for the education and training of CMHC students are reviewed and discussed

    FROM “TRANSIENT IMMATURITY” TO A PERMANENT TRANSFORMATION: Jack’s story

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    Through the lens of the case of an adolescent boy who committed a murder and served nearly three decades in adult prison before he was released on parole, this chapter elucidates key concepts in the US Supreme Court’s reasoning in several recent important cases. It documents this youth’s recovery from early adverse childhood experiences and negative peer effects and his transformation from “transient immaturity” to adult stability. The chapter leverages the accumulating research advances about adolescent development and the process of violence desistance in adulthood to provide context and meaning to this adolescent’s change. The chapter discusses factors of psychosocial maturity or sophistication, violence risk and its diminution through maturation, rehabilitation and personality change, and the limitations in science and clinical practice to sort out the “transient immature” from the permanently “incorrigible”

    The perversion of youth: Controversies in the assessment and treatment of juvenile sex offenders

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    Over the past two decades, concern about adolescent sex offenders has grown at an astonishing pace, garnering heated coverage in the media and providing fodder for television shows like Law & Order. Americans\u27 reaction to such stories has prompted the unquestioned application to adolescents of harsh legal and clinical intervention strategies designed for serious adult offenders, with little attention being paid to the psychological maturity of the offender. Many strategies being used today to deal with juvenile sex offenders-and even to define what criteria to use in defining juvenile sex offender -do not have empirical support and, Frank C. DiCataldo cautions, may be doing more harm to children and society than good. The Perversion of Youth critiques the current system and its methods for treating and categorizing juveniles, and calls for a major reevaluation of how these cases should be managed in the future. Through an analysis of the history of the problem and an empirical review of the literature, including specific cases and their outcomes, DiCataldo demonstrates that current practices are based more on our collective fears and moral passions than on any supportive science or sound policy. © 2009 by New York University. All rights reserved

    A Typology of Patients Admitted to a Forensic Psychiatric Hospital from Correctional Settings

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    A typology of inmates and pretrial detainees admitted to a secure forensic psychiatric hospital was developed using the referral or adjustment problem at the correctional setting as the classifying variable. An eight-group typology was derived along with a description of each type's demographic, criminal, psychiatric, and institutional characteristics. Although the typology appears to be centered primarily on the characteristics of the inmate, closer examination reveals that the resulting schema is more accurately a description of the types of problems presented by the inmate within the correctional setting. From this perspective, the typology is a classification of referral problems that likely says as much about the referring institution as it does about the subject of the referral. Each group within the typology is based on an interaction representing a "poor fit" between the inmate and the institution. Each type of patient problem is described, and various solutions aimed toward improving the fit between the inmate and the setting are discussed. As the rate of incarceration in the United States continues to soar, the number of inmates and pretrial detainees in need of mental health services has proportionally risen. The net effect of overcrowded institutions, lengthier sentences. less "good time" credits, higher standards for parole and early release, and decreases in recreational and rehabilitation programmin

    Distinguishing Juvenile Homicide from Violent Juvenile Offending

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    Juvenile homicide is a social problem that has remained a central focus within juvenile justice research in recent years. The term juvenile murderer describes a legal category, but it is purported to have significant scientific meaning. Research has attempted to conceptualize adolescent murderers as a clinical category that can be reliably distinguished from their nonhomicidal counterparts. This study examined 33 adolescents adjudicated delinquent or awaiting trial for murder and 38 adolescents who committed violent, nonhomicidal offenses to determine whether the two groups differed significantly on family history, early development, delinquency history, mental health, and weapon possession variables. The nonhomicide group proved more problematic on many of these measures. Two key factors did distinguish the homicide group: These adolescents endorsed the greater availability of guns and substance abuse at the time of their commitment offenses. The significance of this finding is discussed, and the implications for risk management and policy are reviewed

    Expertise d'un vampire. Mythologie et psychopathologie

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    Jaffe Philippe D., Tschopp Chantal, Dicataldo Frank. Expertise d'un vampire. Mythologie et psychopathologie. In: Bulletin de psychologie, tome 47 n°415, 1994. Expertises en psychologie légale. pp. 349-356

    The Confluence of Mental Health and Psychopathic Traits in Adolescent Female Offenders

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    The relation among psychopathic traits, violence, and mental health needs was investigated in a sample of juvenile offenders. Information was gathered from 100 youth offenders, 50 female and 50 male, committed to a state juvenile justice agency. Case file information was used to score the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), and additional archival data were used to code offense and mental health variables. Female offenders scoring high on the PCL:YV, particularly the Lifestyle and Antisocial features, were more likely to have histories of psychiatric hospitalization, and a stronger relation between mental health needs and psychopathic traits was found among female compared with male offenders. The differential manifestation of psychopathic traits in female adolescents and relevant treatment implications are discussed

    Feedback on Forensic Mental Health Assessments in a Juvenile Court Clinic Certification Program

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    Public-sector mental health systems have set forth specialized practice competencies for forensic mental health clinicians conducting court-ordered examinations. This study examined a sample of feedback letters to clinicians who submitted mid-training and final reports for review as part of the requirements for certification as a juvenile court clinician. The most common feedback points were insufficient/irrelevant historical data, problems with clarity/organization of the report, problems with interview/mental status examination, and problems with competency to stand trial data/opinions. Clinicians had fewer deficiencies in their final report compared to their mid-training report, supporting the perspective that forensic training and supervision is associated with better quality reports
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