Interventions in forensic psychiatry: the caregiver's perspective.

Although a number of official reports have identified the needs of the caregivers of mentally disordered offenders (forensic clients), there has been limited research in this area. However, some consistent themes have started to emerge from the literature. The burdens being faced by healthcare professionals working with forensic clients are distinct from that of those working with non-forensic clients, with levels of violence directed towards the former being much higher. Levels of professional and social contact are also much reduced for healthcare professionals working in forensic psychiatry. New research seems to show that illness representations (beliefs) have an effect on the coping responses employed by the caregivers of forensic clients. This may be an area that caregivers can focus on in the future to both develop interventions and improve levels of contact and satisfaction with healthcare professionals.