criminal: formulation

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  Forensic psychologists register with the Health Care Professional Council (HCPC).
• Formulations

  1. Take place after the offender has been sentenced

  2. Are a long process

  3. Are generally completed by a forensic psychologist

  4. The main purpose is the assessment and treatment of offending behaviour
• Psychological formulation


  1. Psychologist provides explanations as to why an individual has committed a crime

  2. To understand the offender and assess the risk/capability of re-offending

  3. To consider whether an offender would suit a treatment programme and which one is suitable
• Offence Analysis


  1. Understand the nature of the offence

  2. Look and research similar offences to find contingencies

  3. Assess the risk of re-offending and possible causes to remove or change
• Understanding the function of offending

  1. Determine what purpose the offending behaviour serves to the individual or what motivates the offender

  2. Apply psychological theory e.g. social learning
• Application to treatment


  1. Establish an intervention or treatment programme to reduce re-offending

  2. The treatment should reflect how the offending started, the risk of re-offending, and the offender's motivation to change
• Case formulation


  A way of making sense of an offender's difficulties by looking at contributing factors such as relationships, biological, social circumstances, life events, and how they have interpreted these events
• Forensic Psychologists must be registered by Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) to practice as a professional psychologist
• HCPC Guidance


  • To be able to practise safely and effectively within their scope of practice
  • To be able to practise as an autonomous professional, exercising their own professional judgement
  • To understand the application of psychology in the legal system
  • To understand the application and integration of a range of theoretical perspectives on socially and individually damaging behaviours, including psychological, social and biological perspectives
• Strengths of using case formulations

  Simplifies the complexities of information, helps professionals make decisions, brings together work and insight of many agencies, useful for explaining to offenders about their own behaviour and circumstances
• Weaknesses of using case formulations

  Offenders may not be truthful or accurately remember events, evidence from other agencies may be incomplete or contradictory, vital information may be missing, success is difficult to measure
• Anger management

  Assumes the offender's inability to control their anger is the root cause of their offending behaviour
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

  A process model suggesting thoughts (cognitions) can impact feelings which in turn impact behaviour
• Anger management programmes

  1. Cognitive preparation - offender reflects on anger triggers and tries to redefine situations

  2. Skill acquisition - develop strategies/techniques for controlling anger

  3. Application & practice - role plays to demonstrate learned skills
• Ireland (2000) study assessed the effectiveness of a group-based anger management programme for young male prisoners
• you can see some of the common programmes currently used by the programme
• Anger Management Stages

  1. Trigger

  2. Behaviour technique

  3. Description
• Key Study: Ireland (2000) Assessing the Effectiveness of Anger Management

  • Aim: To assess the effectiveness of a group-based anger management programme
  • Method: Quasi Natural Experiment taking advantage of two naturally occuring groups
  • Procedure: Both groups were assessed on two measures 2 weeks before the start of the course and eight weeks later
• Measures

  • A Prison Officers' behavioural checklist the Wing Behavioural Checklist)
  • An anger management assessment questionnaire, which was a self-report questionnaire completed by the prisoners
• The experimental group participants were given 12 one-hour sessions over a three day period. Within these sessions they Became aware of the process by which they become angry, Were informed of the benefits of controlling their anger, Improved their techniques of anger management, Were allowed to practice anger management through role plays
• There was a significant reduction in angry behaviours in the experimental group but no difference in the control group
• The experimental group scored significantly low on reported angry behaviours after completion of the course. There was no difference for the control group
• Overall 92% of the prisoners in the experimental group showed improvement on at least one measure, 42% on two measures, showed deterioration on both measures upon completing the course
• Strengths of Anger Management Programmes

  • They are core based upon psychological principles-such as CBT, indicating they are based upon SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
  • The programmes follow modules and standardised procedures which means that the programmes are reliable and can be carried out in different prisons or probationary services
  • Some research shows they are useful as they provide an effective means of reducing antisocial behaviour, particularly whilst a person is in prison
  • The programmes may provide criminals with greater insight into the causes of their behaviour and offer alterative ways of responding to provocation
  • Anger management is seen as an ethical treatment as it can be argued that is able to empower clients, by educating them in self-help strategies
• Limitations of Anger Management Programmes

  • It focuses on the thought processes of the offender but may not address the underlying complex causes of crime eg. overlooks biological and situational factors
  • It may help offenders control their behaviour in the short term, but may have little impact in the long-term reoffending rates (especially if they do not continue to practice their behavioural techniques)
  • There isn't a causal relationship between anger and violent crime, so anger management programmes are only suitable for offenders where lack of emotional control has contributed to their crime
  • Effectiveness is hard to judge as anger management programmes are almost always used in conjunction with other treatment programmes, making it difficult to establish cause and effect
  • There is a lack of research into whether or not these programmes have any long-term benefits in preventing recidivism (re-offending)
• Anger management may be seen as a form of social control. The success of anger management depends on the offender's ability to adopt new forms of thinking and ways of behaving that the therapist deems acceptable. A key feature of the therapists job is to make judgements about what aspects of the offenders behaviour require adjustment. Therefore, it could be argued that anger management is a form of social control involving forced compliance to the therapists way of seeing the world
• Hormones


  Once hormones have been secreted by a gland, they are passed through the bloodstream until they reach a particular destination in the body. Hormones work by binding with the receptors on target cells specific to the hormone. The cell will then respond according to its function
• Testosterone


  Secreted by the gonads (males-testes, females-ovaries), effects aggressive behaviour. The more hormone testosterone an individual has the more aggressive they can be and therefore the more likely they are to respond violently to another individual
• Increased levels of testosterone have also been linked more to crimes which have been of a sexual nature. This is because the increased amount of testosterone can increase sperm production increasing sexual arousal which can lead an individual to seek out opportunities to explore this desire
• Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA)


  A drug that decreases the functioning of testosterone, has been investigated as a way of reducing testosterone in males. This chemical agent is known as an anti-androgen, which focuses on breaking down and eliminating testosterone by inhibiting the production of production of testosterone. Therefore, MPA brings about a reduction in sexual drive and deviant sexual fantasy, and possibly aggression
• There are side effects of MPA which include breast enlargements, decreased sperm reproduction and gall bladder and gastrointestinal problems. This makes it more likely an individual will decline such treatments when they are offered
• Key Study: MALETZKY (2006): Assessing the Effectiveness of Drug Treatment - Hormones

  • Aim: To evaluate the offenders who had been assessed for appropriateness of MPA on or just before release. The study followed up offenders who had been an MPA and those that had not, in order to assess the outcomes of being on MPA or not
  • Method: This was a retrospective review because it looked back over the history of the 275 inmates after their release to recidivism rate and to compare those on the MPA programme with those not on the treatment
  • Results: It was found that those offenders who had received MPA committed fewer new offences and NO new sexual offences compared with the other two groups
• Strengths of Hormone Treatment

  • It is supported by research to confirm its effectiveness, indicating it is based upon SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
  • The research has demonstrated a benefit for society since recidivism rates had reduced using the treatment, demonstrating the usefulness of this treatment in society
• Limitations of Hormone Treatment

  • The parole officers filled in the questionnaires, which may have been biased as some of the criteria would have been subjective opinions of the officer (no inter-rater reliability)
  • A retrospective review might also be biased, as it looks for data from the past and may be inaccurate
  • There are ethical issues associated with hormone treatment, since MPA can cause serious side effects to an individual and the full extent of these long-term side effects are unknown for each individual
  • There are ethical issues related to the administering of taking a drug as part of a treatment, as in some cases to ensure an individual takes the drug they have to be restrained, restricting their freewill and sexual freedoms
  • Hormone treatments are regarded to be reductionist, as the treatment looks at providing one treatment for the offender and ignores social and cognitive factors that can also impact on an individual