Assessment implications of “What Works” research for Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) service evaluation

Abstract

A policy initiative intended to address the risk posed by individuals considered dangerous and severely personality disordered has seen the introduction of specialized services for high-risk offenders in secure settings within both the mental health and prison systems in the UK. Accompanying these developments has been an explicit research agenda which includes among its priorities treatment evaluation research with these newly identified dangerous and severe personality disorder (DSPD) offenders. This article discusses a number of key concepts identified from the psychotherapy outcome literature and relates their significance for evaluation research designs to principles drawn from the “What Works” criminological literature with the aim of informing research initiatives within the DSPD service.

Keywords:

• Personality disorder
• treatment evaluation
• psychotherapy outcome
• assessment
• risk
• needs
• responsivity
• violence prediction
• DPSD