MDO Training
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059404100110 |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
35
MDO
Training
Commissioned
by
CCETSW
to
study
the
mental
health
training
needs
of
probation
officers
and
social
workers,
Barbara
L.
Hudson,
Rachel
Cullen
and
Colin
Roberts
of
Oxford
University
undertook
a
survey
in
1992
of
probation
officers
by
postal
questionnaire
to
assess
how
important
they
considered
a
knowledge
of
mental
health
issues
in
their
daily
professional
lives
and
what
relevant
training
they
had
received
during
and
after
qualifying
training.
A
random
(25%)
sample
of
264
maingrade
officers
in
field
and
specialist
teams
in
eight
Probation
Areas
(Cheshire,
Hertfordshire,
Leicestershire,
NE
London,
Merseyside,
Shropshire,
South
Glamorgan
and
West
Midlands)
were
contacted;
193
(73 % )
replied.
»
* .
°
i
o .
min=
@
Overall,
101
(52 %)
officers
had
supervised
a
total
of
196
offenders
suffering
mental
health
problems
in
the
previous
four
weeks.
The
majority
of
such
cases
(72%)
were
not
subject
to
any
formal
psychiatric
requirements
as
part
of
their
supervision.
A
fifth
of
cases
(40)
were
governed by
a
requirement
of
psychiatric
treatment
as
part
of
a
probation
order
and
the
remaining
7 %
(14
cases)
were
subject
to
Mental
Health
Act
supervision.
Respondents
were
able
to
report
a
specific
psychiatric
diagnosis
in
98
of
the
196
cases.
’Psychosis’
accounted
for
51%
of
diagnoses
overall,
constituting
two-
thirds
of
the
psychiatric
probation
orders
and
mental
health
supervision
cases
and
42 %
of
cases
with
no
psychiatric
requirement.
’Personality
disorder’
accounted
for
22 %
of
diagnoses
overall,
constituting
19 %
of
the
psychiatric
probation
orders.
A
third
of
probation
officers
supervising
an
offender
with
a
psychiatric
requirement
were
unable
to
state
a
diagnosis,
suggesting
a
lack
of
communication
between
the
professions.
Respondents
were
asked
whether
their
cases
had
any
of
a
list
of
14
types
of
problem
ranging
from
’impaired
perception
of
reality’
to
’drug
problems’.
’Odd’
or
bizarre
behaviour
featured
in
64 %
of
cases
overall;
60 %
of
cases
showed
’impaired
perception’;
89 %a
suffered
relationship
problems;
74%
experienced
emotional
distress
and
social
isolation.
The
range
of
problems
and
the
high
prevalence
of
nearly
half
of
those
listed
indicated
the
complexity
of
such
cases
and
the
demands
they
are
likely
to
make.
&
.
,
»
~
Eli=
Overall
52
(28 %)
probation
officers
reported
the
existence
of
such
arrangements
but
there
were
significant
differences
between
the
reported
arrangements
in
individual
Services.
In
one
Service
67 %
of
respondents
reported
such
availability
but
in
two
other
Services
officers
reported
virtually
no
arrangements.
In
the
remaining
five
Services
between
29%
and
37%
of
respondents
reported
some
advice
arrangements.
When
asked
to
rate
relations
between
their
Service
and
local
psychiatric
services,
34 % of
officers
rated
them
as
good
or
excellent,
while
22 %
rated
them
poor
or
non-existent.
Agam,
there
were
considerable
variations
between
Areas.
Among
those
who
described
local
arrangements
as
only
fair
or
worse,
there
were
many
critical
comments
about
psychiatrists,
relating
incidents
where
they
had
experienced
unhelpful,
discourteous
or
misleading
treatment
or
serious
misjudgements.
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