Citation

Renwick SJ, Black L, Ramm M, Novaco RW. Leg. Crim. Psychol. 1997; 2(1): 103-116.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, British Psychological Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.2044-8333.1997.tb00336.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Purpose. Despite increasing evidence that anger may play a contributing role in the violent behaviour of psychiatric patients, as yet there is a dearth of evidence concerning the utility of anger control treatment procedures with this population. This paper describes the development and preliminary evaluation of an anger treatment protocol modified to meet the needs of secure hospital patients.Method. Four patients having recurrent problems of anger and aggression were provided with anger control treatment based on the new protocol. Evaluation of the intervention was based on clinical assessments and by quantified structured interviews obtained post-treatment with each patient's psychiatrist, key worker, and day-care worker.Results. Therapist assessment and clinical staff ratings testifiy to modest but significant treatment gains for patients. Experience from clinical implementation highlights key issues in treatment process and institutional system integration for achieving efficacy.Conclusions. The results support the application of anger control treatment procedures to severely disordered psychiatric patients in a forensic institution. Given the preliminary nature of this evidence, and in the absence of a controlled clinical trial, continued work is needed on treatment and research protocols.

Language: en