2014-24: Network activity during treatment (Call 2014-24)

Target group

Patients/clients and their network, and the forensic professional who is in contact with the patient's informal network.

Network activation of informal network members during forensic psychiatric treatment

Within this project, a method for a network interview has been developed, based on the Forensic Social Network Analysis (FSNA). This questionnaire on forensic treatment evaluation aims to systematically involve members of the informal network in the treatment. Throughout the treatment, the network members repeatedly fill in the list, which consists of various items about the patient's/client's progress, and discuss this with the health care professional and the patient/client. The ultimate goal is to offer more integrated treatment and to see how family members, partners and other network members can contribute to a good interpretation and implementation of the C-indicators in the context of treatment progression and risk management. This study investigated to what extent the C-indicators (the clinical items from the HKT-R risk assessment instrument) can be reliably scored by the network members when they are questioned about the situation, and how this can be linked back to the treatment.

Application and effect

This study expected to conclude that this activity would enable informal network members to be better involved in the treatment and resocialisation and that they could also provide important additional information about risk behaviour outside the professional's field of vision. The literature study carried out in the first phase of this project addressed, among other things, what is already known about the network approach in (forensic) patients. In practice, completing the questionnaire turned out to require a considerable investment of time, both from the informal network members and for the practitioners, which made it difficult to recruit enough patients and relatives. The developers provide several valuable insights and recommendations for future research on the successful involvement of relatives in the treatment.

Executive party

FPC. Dr S. van Mesdag Clinic