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VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAM:Target Population, Lack of motivation

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Forensic Psychology (PSY - 513)
VU
Lesson 37
VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAM
Objectives
To learn about the targeted population and challenges while working with such clients.
To know about the main features of Violence Reduction Program
Violence Reduction Program
Program Objectives
The primary objectives of the Violence Reduction Program (VRP) are to decrease the frequency and
intensity of violent behaviors, to decrease or eliminate the antisocial beliefs and attitudes that support
the use of aggression and violence, and to assist the program participants to acquire appropriate
interpersonal skills that are effective in reducing the risk of recidivism, in particular, violent recidivism.
Target Population
The VRP was developed by Wong & Gordon designed to address the treatment needs of high-risk
violent offenders, in particular those who are non-compliant, lacking in motivation, resistant to
treatment, and have a history of institutional misconduct. VRP was typically developed for the offenders
who are considered untreatable and fall in personality disorder category. The program designers
recognize that this sub-group of violent offenders is highly heterogeneous with respect to their
criminogenic needs and responsivity. For example, the offenders may have a combination of
criminogenic needs such as substance use, criminal peers, antisocial/anti-authority attitudes, cognitive
distortions, impulsively, lack of social support, aggressive acting out behaviors and so on.
In addition, they may have responsivity issues such as lack of motivation, mental health issues such as
anxiety and depression, educational deficiencies, psychopathic personality features etc. The program
design, although structured and goal oriented, is flexible enough to accommodate the heterogeneity of
criminogenic needs and responsivity in this client group. Basic concern of VRP is to Change dynamic
factors. While working in prison setting a therapist has to face following challenges:
1.
Extremely difficult client group
2.
Unwillingness
3.
Lack of motivation
4.
Lack of trust
5.
Lack of rapport
6.
No relationship skills/abilities
Unwillingness
In forensic settings courts or other institutional pressures may require psychological treatment.
Therapists typically have viewed unwillingness to enter treatment as a unitary concept, in which clients
fall somewhere along a single dimension that ranges from highly willing and eager to highly unwilling
to engage in treatment. Therapist tries to improve their willingness to participate in this healing process.
Here again the concept of stages of change is important as client moves in the continuum of these
stages. If the person is in pre-contemplation stage the therapist try to help him to move into
contemplation, preparation and then into action and maintenance stage.
Lack of motivation
Clients often do not experience the problem for which they were referred as being a problem for them.
They believe that the behaviour that concerns others is quite reasonable and that the law has been unfair
and punitive. An example is persons who use violence instrumentally to get what they want. Their
violent behaviour is not mediated by anger and is adaptive, in that it generally serves to get them what
they want.
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Forensic Psychology (PSY - 513)
VU
The behaviour may be normative in the environment in which they live (e.g., in prison) and within their
subculture outside prison. Their problem is that they have been caught. Clients who become angry and
then behave aggressively or violently may also enjoy their anger and the sense of energy and power that
it gives them, and believe that it is a useful and legitimate way to manage their lives.
Lack of trust
The therapeutic relationship in the forensic setting is typically not a dyad but a triad, involving the
therapist, the client and criminal justice system or by the treating team. The goals of treatment may have
been set by the court or releasing authorities rather than by the client and therapist is paid for services by
court. Mistrust is found in clients as therapist is not working to help them rather working for the court.
Sometimes clients may fear that therapy will be controlling, and that the therapist will try to dominate
them. As a consequence they often fight against what they perceive as an imposition on their freedom in
a setting in which they have few other sources of self-efficacy and mastery than the maintenance of the
private self.
Lack of rapport
Therapist has to work very extensively and hardly to build up a rapport with such clients.
No relationship skills/abilities
Another challenge is that such clients usually lack in relationship skills and abilities.
To deal with all such challenges a therapist who enters or want to employ VRP must have
clinical background with having grip over a wide range of psychotherapy.
Therapist must have some experience of forensic setting along with sound experience in clinical
training and experience.
Salient features of VRP
The major idea put forward is that correctional programs should target the criminogenic risk/need areas.
More specifically, programs should target that risk/need areas that are "Dynamic" (i.e. changeable) as
opposed to "Static" (unchangeable).
Stages of change were used by Wong and Gordon. "Application of stages of change on Violence
Reduction Scale is called Violence Reduction Program.
Dynamic Factors
Emotional Control
Emotional control is very important feature, training to control emotions like anger is provided during
VRP through role playing, coping statements and anger management skills.
Clients also have the issue of less experienced emotions like happiness, or even anxiety and depression
so instead of feeling the real emotion they only experience anger. Absolute emotional control is not
possible but efforts can helping controlling behaviour, incase if anger is not controlled but consequences
of that emotion in form of behaviour can be controlled.the idea is behind that we are not responsible for
the thoughts but responsible for behaviour and even no court in the world can punish just for thinking
any thing.
Violence during institutionalization
If we succeeds in controlling one's aggression and violence in here and now, if we can help one person
to change and control his violence. We will succeed in keeping him away out side of the prison. Change
in violent behaviour is brought through reinforcements like smoking is a luxury in prisons and if client
shows non violent behaviour through out the day; he can be given an additional (or depending on
situation) cigarette on that day.
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Forensic Psychology (PSY - 513)
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Weapon use
In the same way client can be persuaded through reinforcements for having no weapon with him in
prison.
Insight into violence
There are two types of violence one is instrumental violence and other is emotional violence.
Understanding one's own violence as insights builds reduces the risk of future violence.
A major task of treatment is to enable patients to develop an awareness of their mind and its functions.
Through treatment, they can acquire an awareness of who they are, what they have done and the impact
of this on their own minds and the minds of others. In providing patients with an understanding of their
own mind, the forensic psychotherapist aims to increase patients' capacity to contain unpalatable
thoughts and emotional states rather than impulsively acting on them. Benefits for the patients may
include a more realistic perception of their self-worth, a firmer sense of identity and a decrease in
psychotic and paranoid anxieties. Patients' capacity to make and sustain more-mature interpersonal
relationships may also improve as their view of the external world becomes more realistic and less
distorted by the configuration of their internal world.
Mental Disorder
Usually psychotics are not violent but a person having criminal history and having sever depression can
kill other co-prisoner or can show other kinds of violence under effect of his mental disorder. So mental
disorders are treated using medications and psychotherapies.
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse is a fundamental problem and requires a program on it's on. What ever we eat have
different impact on our brain and ultimately to our thoughts and behaviour. This is a very important
dynamic factor usually it is initiated in bad company to reduce painful emotional states and for soothing
if a person is very violent and addict, until or unless he does not quit this addiction no other
improvements are possible because first of all he will commit crime to get those drugs and then will
commit violence and offences under the influence of that crime so no training of emotional control or
other behavioral controls is workable or effective under such conditions.
The client is given the chance to find other copying strategies to deal with emotional pains rather than
using drugs. Drug addiction is one of the most difficult dynamic factors to treat. Comparatively non
drug addicts have far more chances to improve as a result of VRP.
Stability of relationship with significant other
It means relationship with wife or husband or a person who is very close. As we have also discussed
earlier that addiction is a reaction to negative relationships. So working to solve relationship problems
can help in two ways:
a. If a person has already good relationship then this can be used to strengthen the healing process
because for motivation and improvements this relationship is very important.
b. And if the relationship problems exist then the therapist try to solve them not just for motivation
but also for community support as well.
Violent Lifestyle
Violent life style is not only monitored in prisons but also out side the prison world. So VRP is very
effective because it helps in staying away from old violent life style in non prison settings.
Criminal Personality
Crimnogenic personalities are considered, diagnosed and treated accordingly by using the wide range of
techniques and therapies.
Remember all dynamic factors are interrelated, improvement in one factor have effect on other
factors as well.
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY:Future of Forensic Psychology
  2. INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC PSYCHOOGY:Way of police investigation
  3. FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY AND POLICE:Violent Criminals
  4. POLICE PSYCHOLOGY:Use of excessive force, Corruption, Personnel Selection
  5. POLICE PSYCHOLOGY:Fitness-for-Duty Evaluation (FFDE), False Confessions
  6. INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY:For instance, Empirical and logical approach
  7. INVESTIGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY:Crime Scene Investigation, Staging
  8. PSYCHOLOGY OF VIOLENCE:Law of Conservation of Energy, Super ego
  9. PSYCHOANALYTIC MODEL AND VIOLENCE:Fixation at Oral Stage
  10. PSYCHOANALYTIC MODEL AND VIOLENCE:Defense Mechanism, Rationalization
  11. JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND VIOLENCE:Freudian Methods, JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY
  12. JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND VIOLENCE:Religion and mental illnesses
  13. BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE AND VIOLENCE:Shadow’s violence, Child’s violence
  14. BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE AND VIOLENCE:Operant Conditioning
  15. BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE AND VIOLENCE:Schedules of Punishment
  16. SOCIAL LEARNING MODEL AND VIOLENCE:Observational learning, Vicarious punishment
  17. MORAL DEVELOPMENT AND VIOLENCE:Symbolic functioning, Formal operational stage
  18. BIO-PSYCHO-SOCIAL MODEL:Mental hospitals are factories of abuse
  19. ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ABOUT VIOLENCE:Morality is essential
  20. ISLAMIC MODEL:Nafs al-Ammara, Nafs al-Lawwama, Nafs ul Naatiqa
  21. TREATMENTS FOR THE SOUL:Tawba, Sabr o Shukr, Niyyat o Ikhlaas, Taffakkur
  22. CRIMINOGENIC PERSONALITY:Personality Disorders, Common Crimes
  23. CRIMINOGENIC PERSONALITY AND VIOLENCE:Mnemonic, Similarities
  24. CRIMINOGENIC PERSONALITY AND VIOLENCE:Terrorism and Psychopaths
  25. LEARNING DISABILITIES/MENTAL RETARDATION AND VIOLENCE
  26. ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY DISORDERS:Reasons for referral, Personality Inventories
  27. ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY DISORDERS:Different cutoff scores
  28. RISK ASSESSMENT:Violence reduction scale, Stability of Family upbringing
  29. TREATMENT OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOR / PERSONALITY PSYCHODYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY
  30. JUNGINA THERAPEUTIC MODEL:Limits of re-parenting, Personality Typologies
  31. GROUP THERAPY FOR OFFENDERS:Learning in Groups, Humanistic Groups
  32. PSYCHOTHERAPIES IN FORENSIC SETTINGS:Narrative Therapy
  33. PSYCHOTHERAPIES IN FORENSIC SETTINGS:Solution Focused Therapy
  34. PSYCHOTHERAPIES IN FORENSIC SETTINGS:Avoiding reactance, Externalization
  35. PSYCHOTHERAPY IN FORENSIC SETTINGS AND SPECIAL CHALLENGES
  36. FORENSIC PSYCHOTHERAPY:Exploring therapeutic alliance, Music Therapy
  37. VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAM:Target Population, Lack of motivation
  38. VIOLENCE REDUCTION PROGRAM:Criminal attitude, Interpersonal Aggression
  39. VICTIM SUPPORT:Main features of PTSD, Emotional Support
  40. VICTIM SUPPORT:Debriefing, Desensitization, Eidetic Therapy, Narrative Therapy
  41. SUBSTANCE MISUSE TREATMENT PROGRAM:Marijuana, Unconventional drugs
  42. SUBSTANCE MISUSE TREATMENT PROGRAM:Stages of Change, Homosexuality
  43. EXPERT WITNESS:Insanity Pleas, Sexual Offence Risk, Instructions
  44. COUNTER TERRORISM:Misconceptions, Psychologists & Propaganda war
  45. SUMMING UP FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY:Problems with Risk Assessment, Expert Witness