Treating high-risk, violent offenders

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Tue May 19 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Treating high-risk, violent offenders

Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 1:20 pm
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington

The relationship between high-risk, violent offenders and their therapists can affect offenders’ rehabilitation and recidivism rates, but very little research has been done into the relationship, says Victoria University PhD graduand, Elizabeth Ross.

“My research focused on the correlation between the therapist-client relationship (known as therapeutic alliance, or TA), the various factors that influence this relationship, and the treatment outcomes of offenders in violence prevention treatment programmes.”

Her research, conducted at the Rimutaka Violence Prevention Unit in Wellington, focused on 70 violent, high-risk offenders and their therapists during an eight-month treatment programme.

A key finding was that despite the high-risk, highly psychopathic nature of men in the programme, strong therapeutic alliances were formed.

“This goes against the grain of many researchers who argue that it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to form a good, collaborative relationship with those types of men in treatment,” says Ms Ross.

She also found that although the TA did not directly affect treatment progress, it ensured that men stayed in the programme for longer, actively benefited from the therapists and were able to gain more skills and knowledge to help them avoid re-offending on release.

“A third significant finding was about prisoners' motivation to change. In the past prisoners have sometimes missed out on attending rehabilitation programmes because they weren’t motivated to take part. But this research found that a strong therapeutic relationship early in the programme also led the prisoners to be more motivated to change later on. This is an important finding because it means we don't have to wait until men are motivated, in order to put them into rehabilitation; we can work on motivation inside the programme itself.”

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Ms Ross says her findings can be used to help inform best practice in future violent offender rehabilitation programmes.

She is currently finishing her clinical psychology diploma working at Hawke’s Bay DHB in the Child and Adult Family Service (CAFÉ). In July, Ms Ross moves back to Wellington where she will take up a role with the Department of Corrections as a clinical psychologist, working with offenders to reduce their risk of further offending.

ENDS

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