Assessing and Treating Women Offenders

Abstract

The gender gap is largest when comparing males to females on data pertaining to violent crimes. Given the prevalence rates of certain mental health issues for women offenders, for a clinical assessment to be viewed as robust it should include standardized measures that consider psychometric measures to assess clinical syndromes, depression and anxiety measures, suicide risk factors and actuarial risk measures. Within corrections, offenders with mental illness present challenges to correctional management while incarcerated, for example they average more disciplinary infractions per year than offenders without mental illness. Thus, in treating offenders with mental illness, it is important to integrate the principles of effective corrections (e.g., Risk, Need, and Responsivity (RNR model)) with the principles of effective mental health treatment. This chapter focuses on the Risk-Need-Responsivity Model and other prominent female-centred theories including Relational Theory, and Feminist Pathways perspectives. It also focuses on strengths-based perspectives and their applicability with female offenders. Within an institutional context, correctional operations and/or security staff must work in close collaboration with mental health teams to maintain the safety and security of all, to and to optimize both correctional and mental health outcomes for women. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)