scholarly journals Mental health courts: a workable proposition?

2001 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherine Mikhail ◽  
Akintunde Akinkunmi ◽  
Norman Poythress
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Psychiatric Services ◽  
Mental Health Court ◽  
Mental Health Courts ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Court Diversion ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Current Provision

In the UK the notion of diverting people suffering from mental disorders from the criminal justice system to treatment within the health service is not new (Home Office, 1990), nor is the concept of a court-based psychiatric assessment and liaison service (Joseph & Potter, 1990; James & Hamilton, 1991; Joseph, 1992). Similarly, the concept of 'specialist'courts is not a novelty in the USA (Bean, 1998; Schwartz & Schwartz, 1998). We report on the first specialist mental health court in the USA and propose a modification of the current provision of psychiatric services to courts in England and Wales by combining elements of the mental health court with current court diversion practice.

From the Jailhouse to Capitol Hill: Impacting Mental Health Court Legislation and Defining What Constitutes a Mental Health Court

2003 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Risdon N. Slate
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Therapeutic Jurisprudence ◽  
Mental Health Court ◽  
Mental Health Courts ◽  
Federal Funds ◽  
Capitol Hill

This article examines congressional testimony preceding the passage of legislation authorizing federal funds for mental health courts and makes the case for the importance of anecdotal evidence in the process. The magnitude of persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system is considered, as well as factors that have led to the criminalization of this population. The concept of therapeutic jurisprudence is discussed, and commonalities in the emergence of mental health courts and methods of supervision are examined. Areas of concern are addressed, and mental health courts are advocated as a commonsense approach to diverting persons with mental illness from the criminal justice system and ensuring linkages to treatment.

scholarly journals Managing criminal acts on the psychiatric ward: understanding the police view

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 359-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bayney ◽  
George Ikkos
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Psychiatric Services ◽  
Case Vignette ◽  
Psychiatric Ward ◽  
Police Services ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Legal Remedies

Success in preventing and responding to criminal behaviours on psychiatric wards may sometimes require cooperation between mental health services and local police services. This is especially so when seeking legal remedies through the criminal justice system. This article describes police perceptions of psychiatric services and psychiatric patients. It also reviews police procedures and factors that influence their response when the police are requested to intervene following an alleged criminal act by an in-patient. A case vignette is used to highlight the causes of tensions and guide the reader through the steps that might be considered when the issue of prosecution arises.

Integrating Mental Health Services through Reimbursement Reform and Managed Mental Health Care

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mechanic
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Systems Of Care ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Integration Of Services ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

People with serious and persistent mental illness require a range of community services typically provided by different specialized agencies. At the clinical level, assertive team case management is the strategy commonly used to achieve integration of services across specialized sectors. The USA also has used various financial and organizational approaches to reduce fragmentation and increase effectiveness, including development of stronger public mental health authorities, use of financial incentives to change professional and institutional behavior, requirements to allocate savings from hospital closures to community systems of care, and introduction of mental health managed care on a broad scale. These approaches have potential but also significant problems and there is often a large gap between theory and implementation. These US developments are discussed with attention to the implications for mental health services in the UK.

scholarly journals Community work – a cure for stigma and social exclusion?

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 281-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Mental Health Providers ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cost

SummaryIt is possible to tackle exclusion by altering the nature of transactions between individuals and groups, including mental health services. One way to do this is to cultivate ‘social capital’ or interdependence between individuals and groups – as well as giving, each is entitled, but not compelled, to claim something in return. It is difficult, if not impossible, to sustain stigma and social exclusion when people are meeting mutual needs, building trust and helping each other. Mental health providers can foster social capital by creating community cohesion, namely interdependent relationships between individuals and organisations. This approach has been put into practice in the USA, where providers assert that small investments in building social capital return many times the cost. In the UK there is evidence that community development can make a contribution to mental health but it does not fit well with conventional approaches to mental health services – it calls for different skills and a vision that is collective rather than individualised.

Mental health services for single homeless people

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Philip Timms ◽  
Jenny Drife
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Psychiatric Services ◽  
Background Information ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Uk

SUMMARY Homelessness has long been associated with high rates of psychosis, alcohol and substance misuse, and personality disorder. However, psychiatric services in the UK have only recently engaged actively with homeless people. This article provides some background information about homelessness and mental illness and describes the elements of inclusion health and some of the models of service for homeless people that have been established over the past 30 years.

Geographical Resource Allocation for Public Mental Health Services in Victoria

1997 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Meadows
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Uk

Objective:To provide background information on the approach of area based funding models for mental health services, to describe the considerations which have come to bear in the development process of the Victorian model, to explore the impacts of different models, and to suggest courses for further development. Method:The history of this approach to funding in the UK and the USA is summarised, then an account is given of the development of the Victorian model. The position is put that the validation of such models is hampered by having only sparse relevant data. Suggestions are made for improving this situation. Results:The Victorian model has come to include adjustments for socioeconomic disadvantage, the age, sex and marital status structure of the population, and a variable discounting for estimated substitutive activity of the private sector. Different methods of combining these adjustments into a working formula can be seen to have very different impacts. Conclusions:The approach taken in development of this model can be expected to have major influence on funding within Victoria, but also more widely in Australia. The impacts of differing assumptions within these models are significant. Specifically targeted epidemiological research, and activity analysis of the private sector will be necessary to enhance the validity of models of this type.

The ‘Sexting’ Quagmire: Criminal Justice Responses to Adolescents’ Electronic Transmission of Indecent Images in the UK and the USA

Youth Justice ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Stone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Electronic Communication ◽  
Child Pornography ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

Adolescent embrace of electronic communication with peers often involves sharing indecent images of each other, sometimes with abusive consequences. How should the criminal justice system respond? Use of conventional child pornography legislation can be inappropriately heavy-handed and draconian. This article considers recent developments in the United States and considers how this mode of juvenile indiscretion fits with law, policy and practice in England and Wales.

scholarly journals Media coverage of mental health care in the UK, USA and Australia

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 331-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Huang ◽  
Stefan Priebe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk

Aims and MethodWe aimed to assess the contents and tone of articles on mental health care in the UK print media by comparing them with reporting in the USA and Australia. Two broadsheets from each country were analysed using the Internet for a random 4 months over a 1-year period. The number of articles, their content and the views expressed in them were identified and compared.ResultsA total of 118 articles on mental health care issues were found. The predominant tone of the articles in all three countries was negative, though there were slightly more positive articles in the USA and Australian media. Positive articles highlighted in the UK media covered mostly medical conferences and research findings.Clinical ImplicationsEfforts to achieve a more positive attitude towards people with mental illnesses in the public, such as anti-stigma campaigns, operate against a background of predominantly negative coverage of mental health care issues in broadsheets. The coverage in the UK may tend to be even less positive than in the USA and Australia. Medical conferences and research findings can, however, be used to promote positive views of mental health care in the media.

scholarly journals New Directions in Mental Health Care Evaluation

1988 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-78
Author(s):  
Isaac Marks ◽  
Joseph Connolly ◽  
Matthijs Muijen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health Care Evaluation ◽  
Evaluative Research ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Care Evaluation

Mental health care evaluation is a priority area as mental health care services are changing rapidly, more than are most other medical services. Budgets are finite, and there is concern for value for money in meeting the needs of patients and families. A one-day workshop brought together leading figures in the USA and Europe to discuss how a unit and consortium might be established to give cohesion and catalyse evaluative research in this fragmented field in the UK. Sound scientific data are available which have not yet been widely disseminated or used in policy making. There are rich opportunities for cross-national projects. The USA has intriguing innovations in evaluative research in mental health, some on a large scale, and these are relevant to the UK.

Suicide prevention across the UK criminal justice system: an overview of current provision and future directions

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-62
Author(s):  
Stefanie Oliveira Antunes ◽  
Verity Wainwright ◽  
Neil Gredecki
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current Evidence Base ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Current Provision

Purpose This paper aims to provide an overview of current suicide prevention across the UK criminal justice system (CJS). It considers shortcomings in current provision and how improvements could be made by drawing on international practice. Recommendations for practice going forward and suggestions for future research are made based on the literature. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides an overview of suicide prevention research to date. Relevant literature was identified through a basic journal article search, including terms such as “probation”, “criminal justice system”, “suicide”, “suicide prevention”, “UK” and “suicide theory”. Findings This paper highlights opportunities to improve practice based on the current evidence base, making several recommendations and suggestions for practice, including improving multi-agency cooperation through clearer distribution of responsibilities, simplifying data sharing and investing in trauma-focussed suicide training for staff. Practical implications This paper considers how research and psychological theory has informed suicide prevention practice in the UK. Limitations and challenges in applying theory to practice are explored, in the context of research with frontline staff who use such policies. This review proposes potential improvements to suicide prevention implementation to reduce suicide across the wider CJS. Originality/value This article represents an overview of the existing literature as well as possible future ideas for policy. It is therefore a piece that represents the viewpoint of all involved authors.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document