Developing offender manager competencies in completing case formulation

Abstract

The Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway is a national initiative which co-commissions health and probation to work in partnership to enhance the criminal justice management of high risk offenders with personality disorder. Psychologically informed support is expected to augment the current provision for this client group alongside workforce training. The impact of training offender managers (OM) is uncertain and previous research has indicated training may be limited in its effectiveness. This paper examines the impact of a training and supervision model on the quality of formulations produced by offender managers and suggests that a model which teaches formulation through repeated consultation or the live supervision of practice leads to enhanced competencies in completing case formulations. The paper evaluates the quality of formulations produced by offender managers who have had their practice developed through repeated consultation with the OPD pathway (OPDOMs) in comparison with a generic group of offender managers. OPDOMs who have had the longest period of supervision with the project produced the highest quality formulations. The paper acknowledges a number of limitations but suggests that the model under scrutiny may usefully inform service delivery within the Offender Personality Disorder pathway.

Experiences of mental health nursing staff working with voice hearers in an acute setting: An interpretive phenomenological approach

“…This suggests that training on its own is not enough, as the emotional impact of this type of work is so high. Training is considered to be a good introduction; however, recent research suggests that it is the “ongoing reflection and support around real‐life practice which has a lasting impact on workforce development” (e.g., Radcliffe, McMullan, & Ramsden, ; p.8).…”

Examining the Evidence Base for Forensic Case Formulation: An Integrative Review of Recent Research

“…The majority of these findings were positive (Brown et al, 2018;Mapplebeck et al, 2017;Radcliffe et al, 2018), suggesting that training over several days, possibly with a subsequent period of application, can improve the FCF skills of OMs. This may resolve some of the concerns raised within the opinion research described earlier (Brown & Völlm, 2013;Völlm, 2014).…”

“…The fourth study (Radcliffe, McMullan, & Ramsden, 2018) (Brown & Völlm, 2013;Völlm, 2014) and on an educational program co-commissioned by the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice (Baldwin, 2011), and training within the study by Minoudis et al was developed by two experienced chartered psychologists aided by a range of academic sources. This suggests that the mixed findings of these studies are unlikely to be due to quality differences in the training provided to OMs.…”

Probation staff supervision: Valuing ‘me time’ within congested spaces

“…The notion of a focus within supervision session upon key practice themes affords us the opportunity to revisit possibilities from the past (Prins, 1969). Further to this, group supervision presents a possible outcome that may sit as a complementary approach alongside individual supervision with case formulation models already existing in the NPS (Radcliffe et al, 2017). Ideas around bite-size learning also emerge, especially if QDOs are in place to offer brief learning interventions that support or reinforce other approaches, with existing examples available where practice is identified as in need of immediate improvement (NPS, 2019).…”