Trauma-Informed Forensic Practice argues for placing trauma-informed practice and thinking at the heart of forensic services. It is written by forensic practitioners and service users from prison and forensic mental health, youth justice, and social care settings. It provides a compassionate theoretical framework for understanding the links between trauma and offending. It also gives practical guidance on working with issues that are particularly associated with a history of trauma in forensic settings, such as self-harm and substance use, as well as on working with groups who are particularly vulnerable to trauma, such as those with intellectual disabilities and military veterans. Finally, it considers organisational aspects of delivering trauma-informed care, not just for service users but for the staff who work in challenging and dangerous forensic environments. The book is the first of its kind to address such a broad range of issues and settings. It is aimed at forensic practitioners who wish to develop their own trauma-informed practice or trauma-responsive services. It also provides an accessible introduction to trauma-informed forensic practice for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Developing a forensic practice can be confusing and intimidating. Dr. William Reid, a highly experienced forensic psychiatrist, has written a practical, straightforward guide for clinicians interested in doing it right and increasing their opportunities for a successful transition to forensic work. This book, which will be of interest to many attorneys as well, provides straightforward details, along with many case examples, of lawyer-expert communications and relationships, case assessment, record review, evaluations, reports, deposition and trial testimony, fees and billing, office operations, marketing, liability, and professional ethics. A bonus chapter by a successful malpractice attorney gives a unique and valuable "lawyer’s perspective" on the content and mental health experts in general. The huge appendix provides over 40 highly useful examples of common office forms, letters, reports, and affidavits. Any mental health professional who currently practices, or wants to practice, at the interface of mental health and the law will find this an indispensible practice resource.

This book examines the different ways that trauma is involved in the lives of those who interact with the justice system, and how trauma can be exacerbated in legal settings. It includes both victims and perpetrators in providing a perspective on trauma in general, and a framework that will guide those who evaluate and treat individuals in forensic settings. Comprehensive in scope, it covers key areas such as developmental issues, emotions, linguistic and communication difficulties, and special populations such as veterans, immigrants, abused women, incarcerated individuals, and children. The main objective of this book is to bring trauma to the fore in conducting forensic evaluations in order to understand these cases in greater depth and to provide appropriate interventions for a range of problems. “This masterful book, edited by Rafael Art. Javier, Elizabeth Owen and Jemour A. Maddux, is a refreshing, original, and thoughtful response to these needs, demonstrating – beyond any doubt – why lawyers and forensic mental health professionals must be trauma-informed in all of their relevant work.” –Michael L. Perlin, Esq., New York Law School

This book draws upon the Colorado Model of Criminal Defense-Based Forensic Social Work – a holistic, client-centered, collaborative approach that uses a trauma-informed care framework – to outline the numerous roles and skills of a forensic social worker. The comprehensive, developmentally informed model employs a past (e.g., mitigation themes and life history compilation), present (e.g., client contact and current functioning support), and future (e.g., reentry services) framework to provide mitigation narratives for defendants and to create a comprehensive approach to service. The text starts with an overview of practice standards, ethical considerations, and legal frameworks. Next, chapters examine the unique roles that a forensic social worker must take on and the skills they need to possess. These include using clinical interventions with clients in nonclinical settings, working with clients of different identities and backgrounds, assisting with reentry planning for incarcerated clients, and collaborating with experts outside of the defense team. Finally, the authors provide strategies for practitioners to engage in their own self-care. Interwoven with four case studies using the Colorado Model, this book will be valuable reading for graduate schools of social work, law school programs which have clinics or direct practice components to legal studies, and at defender agencies who contract with or employ social workers on staff.

In this book author Michele P. Bratina demonstrates how the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) supports integration of the U.S. healthcare and justice systems to offer more positive outcomes for offenders with mental illness. The book describes a criminal justice–mental health nexus that touches every population—juvenile and adult male and female offenders, probationers and parolees, the aging adult prison population, and victims of crime. In the United States today, the criminal justice system functions as a mental health provider, but at great cost to society. The author summarizes the historical roots of this crisis and provides an overview of mental illness and symptoms, using graphics, case studies, and spotlight features to illustrate the most pressing issues encountered by justice and behavioral health professionals and the populations they serve. Forensic Mental Health takes a multidisciplinary approach, addressing social work, psychology, counseling, and special education, and covers developments such as case law related to the right to treatment and trauma-informed care. Designed for advanced undergraduates, this text also serves as a training resource for practitioners working with the many affected justice-involved individuals with mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders, including juveniles and veterans.

This book explores how different social psychology theories and concepts can be applied to practice. Considering theories from attribution theory to coercion theory, social identity theories to ostracism, the authors offer a greater understanding and appreciation of the ways in which social psychology can contribute to forensic practice. The book argues that social psychology is useful for carrying out assessments (including risk assessments), formulations, and interventions with clients in forensic settings, as well as for psychological consultation, training, and the development of services. These theories are also important when understanding multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working, staff–client relationships, and peer-to-peer relationships. Through illustrative composite case examples, taken from the authors’ experiences in forensic settings, the chapters demonstrate effective ways to pursue a theoretically informed practice. Exploring a broad range of theories and a timely topic, Social Psychology in Forensic Practice will interest a wide readership including graduate and undergraduate students and researchers in criminology, sociology, and forensic, social and clinical psychology. It will also be of practical use to health professionals and non-health professionals working in forensic settings as well as policy makers and others commissioning forensic services.