Implementation of a Specialized Treatment Program to Reduce Violence in a Forensic Population

Chapter 24 - Implementation of a Specialized Treatment Program to Reduce Violence in a Forensic Population

from Part IV - Nonpsychopharmacological Treatment Considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2021

Susan Velasquez ,

Andrea Bauchowitz ,

David Pyo and

Megan Pollock

Edited by

Katherine Warburton and

Stephen M. Stahl

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Katherine Warburton: Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
Stephen M. Stahl: Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego

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Summary

The California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) manages the psychiatric care of almost 7,000 patients admitted to any of its five hospitals. Over 90% of these patients have forensic commitments, meaning they have been charged with, or convicted of, a crime. Treating patients with mental illness and criminal behavior reflects a general trend within state psychiatric facilities.An increase in physical violence towards staff and patients has been attributed to this mandate to care for patients with both severe mental illness and criminal backgrounds. Addressing violence is a pressing need within state hospital systems, as a safe treatment environment is quintessential to the delivery of effective care.

Type: Chapter
Information: Decriminalizing Mental Illness , pp. 251 - 257

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108920698 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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