Veronica Sanchez Varela
PhD student
Suffolk University
http://www.suffolk.edu/
Our World is engulfed in violence. Crime rates seem to increase yearly, and violence, from terrorism to domestic abuse, is present everywhere. In the midst of the wave of terrorism, crime, and hate that we are experiencing internationally, some psychologists cannot help but wonder: how can we make a difference? In the light of this question, I would like to accept the invitation to write an editorial for EJOP, and focus on a predicament I have developed in my mind thanks to my most recent work in the forensic psychology arena.
In the last year, I have come across numerous individuals who had a childhood abundant with abuse, neglect, and suffering. Now, in their adult lives, they find themselves in the correctional system or locked down in forensic psychiatric wards where they will spend a great amount of time, if not all of their lives, for having committed terrible crimes. In these forensic psychiatric wards, all individuals receive medical care and rehabilitation services. However, it is not surprising to hear members of the hospital staff express their disbelief in the usefulness of psychological rehabilitation for patients who have committed severe crimes. Other professionals dedicate their lives to understanding what motivates some people to commit murder, rape, or become suicide bombers, and to improving their skills to help these forensic patients. As a psychologist in the making, I have had many struggles with this issue as I have not come to terms with the dilemma of whether psychological rehabilitation is in fact beneficial for these specific clients, given that we still seem to know so little about the way their psyche develops and the way it functions. There are some of us who may believe that providing some of the services that are available now is the right and most appropriate thing to do, even if not specific to the population. On the other hand, some health professionals are convinced that no service provided at an individual level would help break the cycle of crime and therefore the efforts should be located elsewhere, perhaps with clients with whom we have a better chance of making a difference.
As a psychology trainee, I have learned about the therapeutic approaches which effectiveness for specific diagnoses is evidence-based. But in terms of treatments for the forensic patients, there is still a lot of ambiguity as to what is the most appropriate path to follow. W. Edwards Deming once wrote that “It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and THEN do your best.” However, what happens when we do not know exactly what to do? Forensic psychology is an emerging field, and understanding criminal behavior has proven to be a difficult task. So the question is: should we still do our best, even though we do not know exactly what to do?
July 07, 2005