Forensic Mental Health
In this book author Michele P. Bratina demonstrates how the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) supports integration of the U.S. healthcare and justice systems to offer more positive outcomes for offenders with mental illness. The book describes a criminal justice–mental health nexus that touches every population—juvenile and adult male and female offenders, probationers and parolees, the aging adult prison population, and victims of crime. In the United States today, the criminal justice system functions as a mental health provider, but at great cost to society. The author summarizes the historical roots of this crisis and provides an overview of mental illness and symptoms, using graphics, case studies, and spotlight features to illustrate the most pressing issues encountered by justice and behavioral health professionals and the populations they serve.
Forensic Mental Health takes a multidisciplinary approach, addressing social work, psychology, counseling, and special education, and covers developments such as case law related to the right to treatment and trauma-informed care. Designed for advanced undergraduates, this text also serves as a training resource for practitioners working with the many affected justice-involved individuals with mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders, including juveniles and veterans.
Michele P. Bratina is an Associate Professor in the Criminal Justice Department at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Previously, she was the Forensic and Children’s Mental Health Coordinator for the Florida Department of Children and Families in the 19th Judicial Circuit—a role that inspired this book. She is Past President of the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences (NEACJS) and holds the position of Region 1 Trustee (Northeast) with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS).
Her research has focused on specialized training for criminal justice professionals and the development of community partnerships in forensic mental health. Other areas of interest include secondary trauma among law enforcement officers and examining offending or offending risk and victimization through a trauma-informed lens. Dr. Bratina’s publications have appeared in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, International Journal of Police Science and Management, Police Practice and Research, Abuse: An International Impact Journal, Salus: An International Journal of Law Enforcement & Public Safety, the Journal of Correctional Health Care, and the Journal of Community Mental Health.