Psychosocial approaches for individuals with schizophrenia in correctional and forensic psychiatric settings: a rapid review

The purpose of this paper is to identify the psychosocial approaches that have been studied and for which positive outcomes have been reported for individuals with schizophrenia in correctional and forensic psychiatric settings.

A rapid review of the literature was undertaken. A search was conducted on MEDLINE and PsycNET electronic databases. Each identified approach was analyzed to define their types and components.

In total, 24 studies pertaining to 18 different psychosocial approaches were identified. Half of the studies used a quasi-experimental design with control group. Most frequent outcomes reported were improvements in knowledge about illness and problem solving. Seven studies reported positive outcomes related to issues more specific to this population (violence, aggression, and recidivism). Approaches associated with these studies used mainly traditional cognitive behavior therapy and cognitive remediation. The focus was on neurocognition, social cognition, social skills, emotion management and problem solving.

This rapid review may enlighten clinical settings on psychosocial approaches for which positive outcomes have been reported with individuals with schizophrenia in correctional and forensic psychiatric settings. The picture obtained supports the idea of using integrated rehabilitation approaches that cover the aforementioned intervention focuses with this population.

A significant contribution of the rapid review is based on the analysis of the psychosocial approaches identified. This process offers a closer look at the nature and content of the approaches used according to the outcomes reported.