Kaizen: working responsively with psychopathic traits

The purpose of this paper is to describe how Kaizen, an accredited offending behaviour programme designed for high risk and need offenders within Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), lends itself to responsive delivery with those meeting the criteria for psychopathy.

The paper describes how the theoretical rationale and model of change underpinning Kaizen can be applied to those with high levels of psychopathic traits given the available literature in this area.

It is argued that Kaizen is applicable to those meeting the criteria for psychopathy.

As a contemporary intervention, the efficacy of Kaizen in its ability to support participants in their journey towards desistance and therefore to contribute to the service wide aim of reducing reoffending is yet to be evaluated. In turn, its applicability to those meeting the criteria for psychopathy is yet to be explored.

This paper lends support to the applicability of Mann and Carter’s (2012) six organising principles of programme design in the treatment of high risk, high need offenders who meet the criteria for psychopathy. It encourages practitioners to consider Kaizen as a possible intervention option for this population and offers guidance as to how the programme might be used to best effect. The paper also highlights the importance of evaluating the efficacy of participation in Kaizen for this population.

In time, Kaizen will replace Chromis as the offer by Intervention Services (HMPPS) for high risk offenders with a high level or combination of psychopathic trait. This paper describes this forthcoming change in approach and the rationale underpinning it.