Abstract
The research literature on the treatability of forensic patients is sparse and fragmented. Employing available studies, we argue for a radical rethinking of treatability within the criminal justice system as a complex predictive task that tests the very limits of clinical competence. Issues that must be addressed in examining treatment needs of mentally disordered offenders include (a) making crosssituational predictions, (b) determining the relationship, if any, between the mental disorder and criminal behavior, and (c) estabilishing the likelihood of treatment compliance, favorable treatment response, and the availability at some future date of recommended interventions.
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The authors would like to express their grateful appreciation to Steven Doheny for his cogent comments on an earlier draft of this article.
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Rogers, R., Webster, C.D. Assessing treatability in mentally disordered offenders. Law Hum Behav 13, 19–29 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01056160
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01056160