The Integrated Psychological Treatment for Individuals With Schizophrenia in Correctional and Forensic Psychiatric Settings: An Implementation Study

Abstract

This study aims to identify the factors that need to be considered in the implementation of the integrated psychological treatment (IPT), a cognitive-behavioral group approach for individuals with schizophrenia, in correctional and forensic psychiatric settings. To meet this objective, a multiple case study ( n = 2) was conducted. Stakeholders involved in the implementation were interviewed. Findings showed that IPT is relevant and can be delivered in correctional and forensic psychiatric settings. However, several issues impeded its implementation and sustainability, some of which were more specific to secure settings (i.e., the legal and clinical picture of the clientele, security requirements, interdisciplinary collaboration, and recognition of IPT in national correctional programming). Adaptations and additional considerations for implementation of IPT in correctional and forensic psychiatric settings are discussed further.

Developing immersive videos to train social cognition in individuals with schizophrenia in forensic psychiatry

“…Generalization of skills and learning is essential to psychosocial rehabilitation (Corrigan and Basit, 1997; Kopelowicz et al , 2006). However, the type of media used to address social cognition (Teufel et al , 2012; Vaskinn et al , 2009) or the constraint of clinical settings (Dumont et al , 2020) may impede this process. Results from this project suggest that immersive videos can have relevant attributes to foster generalization of learning in therapy (e.g.…”

“…First, the enhanced ecological validity of virtual environments compared to conventional therapy settings (Rizzo and Kim, 2005) may help to foster generalization of learning. Typical strategies such as in vivo sessions or take-home exercises can be difficult to implement in forensic psychiatry because of security procedures and confinement (Dumont et al , 2020). On the other hand, VR and 360-degree videos can provide an immersive experience in simulated real-life situations (Chirico et al , 2017) and, as mentioned by Kopelowicz et al (2006), the more alike the training and natural environments, the more likely the behaviors will be used in everyday life.…”