Implementing family intervention within forensic services: The perspectives of clinical staff

Abstract

Background. Few studies have investigated the perspectives of staff on the implementation of familyintervention in forensic services. This may be crucial to overcome the barriers to successful implementation of this therapy.

Aims. To investigate the perspectives and experiences of forensic staff in implementing family interventions in forensic settings.

Method. Staff responded to two open-ended questions about the (i) barriers and (ii) solutions to poor implementation of family intervention. Responses were subject to thematic analysis.

Results. Twenty-five forensic staff responded. The analysis showed that five themes represented the barriers of family intervention: insufficient time, poor support, lack of training, deficient information sharing and geographic limitations. In response to these barriers, staff provided practical solutions for a family intervention service: a clear pathway, protected staff time, revised policy and structure specific to family intervention, improved supervision, increased managerial support, shared education and modernisation.

Conclusion. By including staff with a wealth of experience of working within forensic services and delivering family interventions, this study generated rich information on the implementation of family interventions. Staff themes highlighted key barriers, together with solutions to those barriers, in order to successfully implement a family intervention service within forensic services.

Keywords:

• Forensic
• family intervention
• staff
• implementation
• thematic analysis

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the NHS North West Specialised Commissioning Team. The authors are grateful to the staff from the forensic units who participated in this project. This study was submitted as part of V Absalom-Hornby's PhD thesis, Division of Clinical Psychology, The University of Manchester.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.