Brian Thomas-Peter

Douglas College · Faculty of Child Family and Community Studies

Conclusions about the relationship between anger and violence have been drawn from research that largely uses non-clinically angry, non-violent participants. The present study assessed cognitive correlates of anger by comparing mentally disordered violent offenders (n=22) and violent prisoners (n=22) in their irrational beliefs, self-esteem, intern...

Purpose. This article constitutes the first effort to consider debasement employing the Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory III (MCMI-III) in a forensic clinical population and incorporating the recommendations of Van Denburg and Choca (1997). It considers the proposition (Rogers, 1990a) that the pathogenic and criminological models of malingerin...

IntroductionThe Breadth of Psychological NeedTherapeutic Processes with Offending PopulationsDiscussion

The PCL-R has been heralded as the ‘unparalleled’ (Salekin et al, 1996) risk assessment tool for assessing risk of violent and non-violent recidivism. In the UK, the PCL-R looks likely to become an industry standard assessment in psychological evaluation of individuals thought to have a dangerous and severe personality disorder. However, current kn...

Evidence-based interventions designed to reduce the risk of re-offending, particularly violent re-offending, are commonly offered in correctional systems around the world. The interventions are often based upon the application of several principles of service delivery that have become widely known as the ‘what works’ approach to offender rehabilita...

This study considered the ability of items on the HCR-20 and VRS, structured clinical risk assessments, to predict inpatient violence within the first 6 months of admission to a secure forensic service. A retrospective file review of information available at time of admission was used to complete the Historical and Clinical scales of the HCR-20 and...

The Novaco Anger Scale is the only scale published that allows for the measurement of anger with relation to Novaco's (1976) widely used model of anger management. This paper is the first to present a statistical analysis of the factor structure of this scale. From a sample of healthcare employees and outpatients with problems with anger control, a...

This paper considers the issue of sexual contact between staff and patients in psychiatric and, especially, forensic environments. Such relationships have been the subject of research in generic settings where a substantial minority of mental health professionals have been found to be involved. The effect of these relationships is substantial on bo...

To provide non-clinical normative data for the Novaco Anger Scale. To identify the ability of the scale to discriminate between clinical and non-clinical populations. Postal survey of individuals from a non-clinical sample. A non-clinical sample of 212 NHS employees was sent a questionnaire pack, including the Novaco Anger Scale. A clinical sample...

This paper uses a case study to illustrate an application of the scientist-practitioner model to clinical practice. Through consultation with a clinical psychologist, a simple method of obtaining an objective overview of the therapeutic use of medication was developed. Focusing on a woman in a Regional Secure Unit, data were gathered from incident...

This paper discusses the legal, ethical and professional issues encountered in forensic psychology. Psychological theory and research potentially have much to contribute to legal questions. The paper presents examples of psychology's contributions in the areas of risk assessment, the reliability of children's evidence and the assessment of sexual i...

Although the debate over the use of the legal classification of psychopathic disorder has been prolific, little research has been conducted in examining how the term is being used in current practice. This study used a retrospective case-note analysis to investigate the characteristics of patients who had been detained under the Mental Health Act 1...

Sexual masochism is an elusive diagnostic category and may encompass a whole range of different behaviours. This diversity has not only clinical implications but also legal ones. This paper describes two cases, one from each end of what might be described as the spectrum of the disorder, and highlights some therapeutic issues as well as the potenti...

An attempt is made to define abusive actions by offering criteria against which the behaviour of individuals can be considered. These criteria are based on whether the behaviour is avoidable, the appraisal of an objective observer and the impact of the behaviour on the ‘psychological contract’ between employer and employee. Particular abusive actio...

This article considers formulations of aggression in personality disordered offenders. Common themes are drawn from case histories and it is argued that a phenomenological theory of sexual aggression and aggressors is of value in the understanding and treatment of some personality disordered offenders. The article suggests that this may be done by...

In this paper we review the contribution of forensic clinical psychology to the investigation, understanding, and formulation of offending behaviour. The most significant contributions have been made in the areas of violence and sexual offending. The forensic clinician will need to be aware of work relating to personality predispositions, of resear...

41 convicted male offenders in group treatment were assessed by 3 probation officers to establish whether professionals who work with sex offenders in treatment groups can recognize different components of denial. The study also ascertained how components of denial relate or form patterns of denial. The Measurement of Denial questionnaire was compl...

Ten subjects, 5 personality disordered offenders (psychopathic disorder) and 5 normal control subjects were asked to undertake a computerized social judgement, repertory grid task on three occasions. The results indicate that social judgement is very reliable in both groups. Reaction time in social judgement is liable to decrease on repeat trials u...

Cognitive Therapy of Personality DisordersBeckA. T.. New York: Guilford Press, 1990. pp. 396. £19.95 hardback. ISBN: 0-89862-434-7. - Volume 20 Issue 3 - B. A. Thomas Peter

The literature on the classification of ‘psychopathy’ is briefly reviewed. The contributions of Hare and Blackburn are set out and differences between them are discussed. The specific contention, made by Hare, that many of the subjects employed by Blackburn are not really ‘psychopaths’ in the true sense of the word as their behaviour arises from ne...

Thirty-seven male, medico-legally defined psychopaths were compared with 29 similarly aged control subjects, on four measures of telic dominance. This tested a hypothesis proposed by Apter (1982) that psychopaths would be paratelic dominant, implying that their motivation would be to increase immediate experiential arousal at the expense of future...

Seventeen female agoraphobic patients were treated in three groups by in vivo exposure over 10 sessions. Dependent measures comprised an assessment using a behavioural hierarchy and an assessment of subjective anxiety. Pre-treatment assessment of the number of problems and fears, interpersonal variables and personality as measured by the E.P.P.S. w...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Liverpool, 1990.