Relationship influences for probationers with mental disorder

Background Many probationers have serious mental disorders that complicate supervision. Compared to their relatively healthy counterparts, probationers with mental disorder (PMDs) are at double the risk of probation failure and incarceration. In an effort to improve outcomes for PMDs, some U.S. jurisdictions have developed specialty mental health caseloads. In these specialty programs, officers with interests or training in mental health supervise reduced caseloads comprised of PMDs. These caseloads reintroduce the notion of treatment to supervision and embody tension between the goals of protecting community safety ("control") and promoting offender rehabilitation ("care"). Specialty mental health officers are tasked with negotiating these dual roles. In this presentation, I describe the key dimensions of these dual role relationships and their impact on PMDs'outcomes. Although research indicates that the therapeutic alliance affects outcomes more strongly than the specific techniques applied, measures of the alliance do not capture the dual roles inherent in relationships with involuntary clients.