ABSTRACT
In this chapter we cover issues related to working with offenders with serious mental illness. This is a complex area of professional practice, which raises issues about defining the population, identifying the special needs of such offenders, and describing the best available approaches to assessment, treatment and risk management. Many important specialized topics such as the nature of trial competency, the parameters of criminal responsibility in relation to mental illness, differences in the conceptualization and labelling of mental disorders between clinical and legal professionals, and the debate about whether personality disorders or psychopathy should be considered mental illness in criminal justice proceedings, cannot be addressed within the limitations of this chapter. The primary focus here will be on serious forms of mental illness such as major mood disorders, psychotic disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder among convicted offenders, and some of the challenges of working effectively with this population.
