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Offenders with Intellectual Disability | Discussion Forum
Offenders with intellectual disability are a small but highly problematic group within forensic mental health services.
In addition to their intellectual disability a large proportion of these offenders are burdened with heterogeneous and highly complex co-morbid mental disorders. Furthermore, they frequently suffer from multiple and severe somatic problems that create needs which are hard to meet.
As evidence based treatment options are rare success is limited. Furthermore, the problematic interface to community treatment services extends the length of stay. Once admitted, most of these patients stay inside forensic psychiatric facilities for many years. For a significant proportion discharge never becomes an option.
This special interest group tries to facilitate the international exchange of ideas, experience and research evidence to provide more effective services for offenders with intellectual disability.
Objectives of this group are:
- To bring together specialists with an interest in the treatment of offenders with intellectual disability in order to achieve synergy in finding new ways to manage this group of patients in forensic mental health services
- To establish an international network and provide a development platform to facilitate sharing of information, expertise, and skills with respect to
- treatment of different subgroups of offenders with intellectual disability,
- co-morbid conditions (intellectual disability plus any other mental disorder), and
- service organisation and delivery
- To promote good practice in the assessment and treatment of offenders with intellectual disability
- To support clinical and academic development in this field
Target group:
Psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, and other specialists involved in the treatment of offenders with intellectual disability.
Members of IAFMHS are invited to participate in the activities of this group.
Chair: Kim Ellen Biesmans
Email: k.biesmans@stevig.nl