Management of the Mentally Abnormal Offender

Discussions about the prediction of dangerousness, a legal or social construct, often extend beyond forensic psychiatry into the general practice of psychiatry. Dangerousness can drive the entrance to and exit from the mental health and forensic system. Better conceptualized as risk prediction, it has been seen as a core skill for forensic psychiatry and an increasing requirement for general psychiatrists. Yet, for all the expertise in and the usefulness of risk prediction, it is the daily management of the mentally abnormal offender that taxes the clinical skills of the forensic psychiatrist. This article will address what we know about this area and suggest a model for managing mentally abnormal offenders. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 8:15–26 (2008)]