“Treatment of Perpetrator” is a clinical approach aimed at providing psychological and emotional treatment and support to perpetrators of crime and violent behaviour. Perpetrator clinical work helps prevent reoffending and helps perpetrators to understand their own behaviour and develop skills to adapt to society. The field is at the intersection of psychology, psychiatry, social work and forensic medicine and aims to treat and reintegrate perpetrators, while ensuring the safety of victims and society as a whole.
Objectives of perpetrator clinical practice
Re-offending prevention
Preventing perpetrators from committing another criminal or violent act is paramount. This includes helping perpetrators understand the causes and triggers of their behaviour and learn how to control it.
Awareness of responsibility and behaviour change
It is important that perpetrators are made aware of their responsibility for their actions and understand the impact of their actions on the victim. This understanding will lead to behavioural change in the perpetrator.
Reintegration support
Provides perpetrators with the skills and support they need to adapt to society and lead healthy lives. This includes vocational training, employment support and social skills development.
Perpetrator clinical approach
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
An approach that aims to help perpetrators recognise and modify the patterns of thinking and feeling that lead to offending and violent behaviour; CBT is considered an effective means of managing aggressive thoughts and impulses.
Psychoanalytic approach
It aims to explore the perpetrator’s unconscious motivations and past traumas and understand how these influence their current offending behaviour. This approach focuses on the perpetrator’s deeper psychology.
Anger management
A programme dedicated to anger management, in which perpetrators learn how to express their anger in a healthy way and avoid impulsive violent behaviour. It is often used particularly with perpetrators of violent offences.
Group therapy
Group therapy, where offenders with similar problems meet to support each other and share their experiences, can also be effective. Group therapy can help reduce feelings of isolation and develop skills to build healthy relationships with others.
Psychiatric treatment
When psychiatric disorders or addictions are involved in criminal behaviour, medication and psychiatric treatment are used. For example, if offending is caused by schizophrenia or depression, appropriate drug treatment may help prevent reoffending.
Rehabilitation and social support
Programmes may be offered to support reintegration, such as vocational training, employment support and housing. This helps perpetrators to rebuild their lives away from crime.
Challenges of perpetrator clinical work
Social prejudice
The persistence of social prejudice and stigma against perpetrators can make it difficult for them to reintegrate into society. This can hinder the rehabilitation of perpetrators.
Motivation to treatment
The perpetrator’s own willingness to take an active role in treatment is key to success, but low motivation may limit the effectiveness of treatment.
Relationship with victim
How the perpetrator repairs the relationship with the victim is a key issue. Making amends to the victim may be part of treatment, but how this is achieved is on a case-by-case basis.
Reducing reoffending
It is very difficult to prevent reoffending altogether and it is not easy to reduce reoffending rates to zero, no matter how effective a treatment programme is. Sustained support is therefore necessary.
Conclusion
Offender clinical care plays an important role in preventing offenders from engaging in criminal behaviour again and in helping them to adjust to society. This approach aims to facilitate the rehabilitation of perpetrators and ensure the safety of society as a whole by providing treatment and support tailored to the individual perpetrator’s background and problems. However, the motivation and social support of the perpetrator is essential for successful treatment, and comprehensive programmes must be in place to support this.
