The forgotten families; a systematic literature review of family interventions within forensic mental health services

ABSTRACT

The Department of Health, England, recommends that all relatives in close contact with a person experiencing schizophrenia should be offered Family Intervention (FI). Given that up to 70% of the forensic population meet the criteria for such a diagnosis there is a strong rationale for providing FIs within forensic settings. This review aimed to explore the prevalence and attitudes towards such work. A systematic search of nine databases was conducted; of 1206 citations, 6 met criteria for inclusion. Findings suggest despite a high degree of contact between forensic patients and their relatives, the provision of FIs within forensic settings remains sparse. Numerous barriers to the execution of this work were identified, along with service recommendations on how to overcome these.

KEYWORDS:

• Forensic
• family interventions
• family therapy
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.