The Integration of Mental Health Practice in the Criminal Justice System

Chapter 7 describes how the intersection between the mental health and justice systems brings with it unique roles and responsibilities for mental health professionals, who must be attuned to the safety of clients, and cognizant of how standards of conduct typically applied to clinical practice may change in this area of work. An expanded view of who the client is and the need to work in teams rather than individual clinical practice are examples of how clinical practice can change. Chapter 7 also describes common pitfalls encountered by clinicians in these cases, particularly as they relate to assessment, confidentiality and the management of client records, roles in court, boundary issues, and the misapplication of common clinical modalities. Finally, the chapter explores the phenomenon of “secondary traumatization”—the negative impact that clinical work in the intimate partner violence domain can have on a clinician. The sections within chapter 7 include: