Maintaining Change: Converging Legal and Psychological Initiatives in a Therapeutic Jurisprudence Framework

This paper considers some detailed aspects of the application of therapeutic jurisprudence to the working of the criminal law. Its objective is to draw parallels between aspects of the practice of law when viewed ‘in a therapeutic key’, and the application of psychologically-based interventions to the task of changing offenders’ behavior. The first section of the paper provides an overview of background evidence concerning the respective outcomes of legal punishment on the one hand, and offender rehabilitation and treatment on the other. The remainder of the paper turns attention to four specific areas of research and practice in clinical and forensic psychology that reflect some current developments in the practice of therapeutic jurisprudence, in each case illustrating the potential usage of findings in legal settings. They are: (1) Evidence concerning outcomes of psychological therapy and the importance of the ‘working alliance’. (2) Processes of engagement and motivational enhancement at the start of the therapeutic encounter, with particular reference to problems that are not easily resolved. (3) Research and clinical experience concerning how therapeutic activity is planned and progress monitored, and how this can incorporate means of helping to sustain motivation. (4) Supporting the longer-term maintenance of gains through the use of relapse prevention principles.