Treatment Alternatives for Mentally Disordered Offenders: A Literature Review (Report‪)‬

Introduction The moniker "evidence based" has become synonymous with the acceptable standard of psychological care in facilities that maintain and treat mentally disordered offenders (MDOs). Despite the widespread recognition of evidence based treatments, there is a shocking lack of empirical research on which psychological treatments work best for this complex population. This major gap in the research is particularly troubling given the large number of MDOs in correctional and forensic facilities throughout the world. In 2004, one of the authors set out to conduct a meta-analysis on evidence based treatments for MDOs, and found only a handful of research studies suitable for quantitative analysis (Welsh, Ashby, Glassmire, Love, Tavegia,&Warke, 2004). Most of the existing studies were either poorly controlled, did not report sufficient statistical information to conduct a meta-analysis, or did not adequately define the treatment or treatment population. Nevertheless, three treatments were identified that had a weak to moderate evidence base--behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, and therapeutic community. Since then, there has been additional research conducted on interventions for MDOs, and new promising treatments have emerged. Thus, we provide an updated review of the aforementioned treatments, and discuss new and emerging treatments that hold particular promise for MDOs.