Criminal Treatments

• Anger management: what is anger management?

  it is a form of cognitive behavioural treatment
• Anger management: what does anger management assume?

  it assumes that the offenders inability to control their anger is the root cause of offending
• Anger management: what is the first step of anger management?

  cognitive preparation
• Anger management: what is the second step of anger management?

  skills acquisition
• Anger management: what is the third step of anger management?

  application practice
• Anger management: what does cognitive preparation involve?

  reflecting on the situations which cause anger
• Anger management: what does cognitive preparation involve?

  recognising the thoughts which precede anger
• Anger management: what does skills acquisition involve?

  this is where the offender is taught a range of behavioural techniques to help them cope with anger provoking situations EG: self talk
• Anger management: what does application practice involve?

  role play is used to practice new skills to deal with anger. This test whether the new skills have been internalised
• Anger management: what does cognitive preparation involve?

  this is where thought patterns associated with anger are challenged
• Biological treatments: what treatments aim to support offenders?

  hormone and drug treatments
• Biological treatments: what can hormone and drug treatments help support?

  aggression and sex offence
• Biological treatments: individuals with a history of aggression have been reported to have an elevated amount of which hormone?

  testosterone
• Biological treatments: what is MPA?

  a female hormone
• Biological treatments: what is MPA?

  it is a chemical agent referred to as an anti-androgen
• Biological treatments: what does MPA do?

  it decreases the functioning of testosterone and reduces testosterone levels in males
• Biological treatments: what is MPA?

  it acts by breaking down and eliminating testosterone
• Biological treatments: what are high levels of dopamine associated with?

  aggression
• Biological treatments: how is dopamine associated with aggression?

  aggression activates the release of dopamine and generates a rewarding feeling in the individual, this reinforcing their aggression
• Biological treatments: what activates the release of dopamine?

  aggression
• Biological treatments: how can reducing dopamine levels reduce aggressive behaviour?

  reduction of dopamine means there is a reduction of the rewarding feeling a person receives when they act aggressively
• Biological treatments: how can dopamine be reduced?

  through the use of dopamine antagonists
• Biological treatments: what is the role of serotonin?

  to maintain mood balance
• Biological treatments: what does an SSRI do?

  they increase the level of serotonin
• Biological treatments: what have SSRI's been found to reduce?

  aggression and irritability in people with a history of aggression
• Biological treatments: how do SSRI's work?

  they work by blocking the reuptake of serotonin, this results in more serotonin being available to pass further messages between neurons
• Biological treatments: what are SSRI's a form of?

  antidepressants