Health professionals’ attitudes to substance abusers have been reported as suboptimal with potential adverse consequences for the quality of health care provided. Less is known about professionals working with addicted clients in mandated contexts. The aim of this study is to gain insight into forensic social professionals’ attitudes to substance use and examine differences between subgroups of professionals. An online survey including the Brief Substance Abuse Attitude Scale was completed by 314 Dutch forensic social professionals. Overall, forensic social professionals’ attitudes to substance use and treatability were positive, but there were differences regarding needed treatment interventions and ways of controlling substance use. Professionals who work within specialist addiction services had less moralistic and stereotypical attitudes. Professionals who have personal experiences with addiction reported to be more tolerant, but at the same time more convinced of strict control of substances use of their clients
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The body of evidence that the working alliance is associated with positive outcomes for mandated clients is growing. The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of several characteristics of probation officers (POs) and offenders on the course of the working alliance during probation supervision. This study examined the patterns on the four alliance subscales: Trust, Bond, Goals-Restrictions, and Reactance of the Working Alliance With Mandated Clients Inventory (WAMCI) in 201 offenders and their 137 POs. Three patterns on each alliance subscale were found: deteriorating, improving, and stable. Multinomial logistic analysis revealed that change of POs and the preference of the PO to maintain rules were associated with a deteriorating Trust pattern. From the perspective of the offenders, being motivated to take part in supervision was associated with a stable pattern on every alliance subscale, but having problems with substance use increased the likelihood of a deteriorating pattern on every alliance subscale.
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Objective: A key aspect of psychiatric rehabilitation is supporting individuals with serious mental illness in reaching personal goals. This study aimed to investigate whether various aspects of the working alliance predict successful goal attainment and whether goal attainment improves subjective quality of life, independent of the ehabilitation approach used. Methods: Secondary analyses were conducted of data from a Dutch randomized clinical trial on goal attainment by individuals supported with the Boston University approach to psychiatric rehabilitation (N=80) or a generic approach (N=76). Working alliance was measured with the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) from the practitioner’s perspective. Rehabilitation practitioners had backgrounds in social work, nursing, or vocational rehabilitation. Multiple logistic regression and multiple regression analyses explored effects of working alliance on goal attainment and of goal attainment on subjective quality of life at 24 months. Analyses were controlled for client- and process-related predictors, baseline quality of life, and rehabilitation approach. Results: The WAI goal subscale predicted goal attainment at 24 months. No effect was found for the bond or task subscale. Goal attainment significantly predicted quality of life at 24 months. These effects were independent of the rehabilitation approach used. Conclusions: A good bond between client and practitioner is not enough to attain successful rehabilitation outcomes. Findings suggest that it is important to discuss clients’ wishes and ambitions and form an agreement on goals. Attaining rehabilitation goals directly influenced the subjective quality of life of individuals with serious mental illness, which underscores the importance of investing in these forms of client support.
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Hoofdstuk 20 Part II in Understanding Penal Practice van Ioan Durnescu en Fergus McNeill Criminological and penological scholarship has in recent years explored how and why institutions and systems of punishment change – and how and why these changes differ in different contexts. Important though these analyses are, this book focuses not so much on the changing nature of institutions and systems, but rather the changing nature of penal practice and practitioners The first part of the book focuses on understanding practice and practitioners, exploring how changing social, cultural, political, and organisational contexts influence practice, and how training, development, professional socialisation and other factors influence practitioners. The second part is concerned with how practitioners can be best supported to develop the skills and approaches that seem most likely to generate positive impacts. It contains accounts of new practice models and approaches, as well as reports of research projects seeking both to discover and to encourage effective practices
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Centrale vraag in dit artikel was: ‘Hoe verhoudt professionaliteit zich tot de tendens om protocollen op te stellen voor allerlei werkprocessen, waar voorheen sprake was van een zekere autonomie voor professionals of collegiale verbanden om deze processen naar eigen inzicht in te richten?’De eerste conclusie, uitgaande van het model van De Jonge (2011), is dat protocollering van werkprocessen niet op gespannen voet hoeft te staan met professionaliteit. De tweede conclusie is dat met de groei van het kennisbestand en de verbeterde opleiding voor reclasseringswerkers de professionele ruimte had kunnen toenemen, maar dat dit in de jaren na de eeuwwisseling niet het geval was. De derde conclusie is dat de reclassering sinds enkele jaren een nieuw evenwicht zoekt – en lijkt te vinden – waarbij de professional weer kan worden aangesproken op de volledige professionele expertise, dus inclusief erkenning van tacit knowledge en professionele ruimte
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Forensisch sociale professionals hebben een cruciale rol in de trajecten van cliënten met verslavingsproblematiek. Veel onderzoek naar de effectiviteit van het forensische werk gaat over methodieken; er is relatief weinig bekend over de persoon van de forensisch sociale professional en diens persoonlijke stijl en opvattingen. Wat zijn bijvoorbeeld opvattingen ten aanzien van (de behandelbaarheid van) middelenmisbruik van forensische cliënten? Wanneer en hoe grijp je in als een cliënt terugvalt in middelengebruik? Hier is nog nauwelijks onderzoek naar verricht. In dit artikel presenteren wij de resultaten van een verkennend onderzoek naar de attitudes ten aanzien van cliënten die middelen gebruiken en behandelbaarheid van verslaving van reclasseringswerkers en professionals in de ambulante en klinische forensische zorg. Daarnaast wordt inzicht gegeven in de verschillen tussen subgroepen naar gender, werkervaring, setting, verslavingsprofessional of niet, en persoonlijke ervaringen met middelengebruik/verslaving. Vervolgens wordt ingegaan op de acties en overwegingen van forensisch sociale professionals bij het constateren van middelengebruik bij cliënten. Na de conclusies besluiten we met enkele aanbevelingen voor de versterking van de beroepspraktijk. Eerst worden de bevindingen uit eerdere literatuur beschreven.
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Hoewel er de laatste decennia veel onderzoek is gedaan naar risico- en beschermende factoren en er vele risicotaxatie-instrumenten ontwikkeld zijn, is er duidelijk minder bekend over hoe de communicatie van risico’s naar de rechter of naar andere instellingen verloopt. Een wezenlijke vraag hierbij is hoe de informatie wordt ontvangen en begrepen en of de wijze van communiceren van invloed is op de besluitvorming, bijvoorbeeld het al dan niet opleggen van een (behandel)maatregel. Risicocommunicatie vormt de link tussen risicotaxatie en de besluitvorming en het daaropvolgende risicomanagement, en bepaalt daarmee in feite het nut van de risicotaxatie.
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Introduction: Although some adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require intensive and specialized ASD treatment, there is little research on how these adults experience the recovery process. Recovery is defined as the significant improvement in general functioning compared to the situation prior to treatment. Methods: This qualitative study describes the recovery process from the perspective of adults on the autism spectrum during intensive inpatient treatment. Semi-structured interviews (n = 15) were carried out and analyzed according to the principles of grounded theory. Results: Our results indicate that, given the specific characteristics of autism, therapeutic interventions and goal-oriented work cannot be carried out successfully, and the recovery process cannot begin, if no good working relationship has been established, and if care is not organized in ways that a person on the autism spectrum finds clear and predictable.
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Purpose: This case study is presented to inform the reader of potential speech, language, cognitive, and emotional characteristics in preadolescent cluttering. Method: This case study describes a 10-year-old boy who started to clutter during preadolescence. The case illustrates that, in some adolescents, cluttering can co-occur with temporary stuttering-like behavior. In this case, signs of disturbances in speech-language production associated with behavioral impulsiveness as a young child were noted. Speech, language, cognitive, and emotional results of the case are reported in detail. Results: The changes in fluency development are reported and discussed within the context of changes in the adolescent brain as well as adolescent cognitive and emotional development. While being unaware of their speech condition before adolescence, during preadolescence, the changes in brain organization lead to an increase in rate and a decrease in speech control. Given that the client had limited understanding of what was occurring, they were at risk of developing negative communication attitudes. Speech-language therapists are strongly advised to monitor children with cluttering signals in the early years of their adolescence.
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