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Hospital treatment of persons found not guilty by reason of insanity
Author(s) -
Kapoor Reena,
Wasser Tobias D.,
Funaro Melissa C.,
Norko Michael A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2484
Subject(s) - insanity , recidivism , scrutiny , psychiatry , aggression , population , psychiatric hospital , medicine , psychology , medical emergency , political science , environmental health , law
Abstract After being found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI), individuals are typically admitted to a secure forensic hospital for evaluation and treatment. This patient population can pose a challenge to clinicians in the hospital setting due to significant violence risk, complex psychiatric presentations, and scrutiny from oversight boards and the public. This article reviews the scientific literature around several key aspects of hospital‐based treatment of insanity acquittees, including the management of inpatient aggression, the provision of specific treatments to acquittees, the assessment of violence risk and readiness for release, and the process of community transition. The authors conclude that the existing literature is heavily weighted toward the study of risk assessment and recidivism, with relatively little attention paid to the study of therapeutic modalities and recovery‐oriented care in this population.