Dr Joseph Allan Sakdalan1
1Forensicare and Cairnmillar Institute
Biography:
Dr Joseph Sakdalan is an AHPRA and NZ Registered Psychologist with endorsements in clinical psychology, counselling psychology and clinical neuropsychology. He has more than 25 years of clinical experience providing assessment and treatment of clients with complex presentations such as mental health issues, cognitive problems, neurodivergence, personality issues, complex trauma, and offending behaviours.
Joseph is a Principal Psychologist for Court Reports at Forensicare and a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the Cairnmillar Institute in Melbourne, Australia. Joseph has pioneered the development of offence-specific and offence-related programs for ID offenders, which have been implemented in forensic and correctional services locally and internationally.
Abstract:
There is a paucity of research on evidence-based violence prevention programs developed for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Anecdotally, existing violence prevention programs are based mainly on adapted CBT programs for the mainstream population. However, research evaluating these programs is virtually non-existent. It can be argued that these programs may not be suitable for ID offenders, especially those with complex presentations, such as those with significant risk, mental health, trauma, and personality issues. Furthermore, there is a higher prevalence of victimisation in individuals with ID than in their non-ID counterparts.
The VRP-ID program is a concerted effort to develop an evidence-based violence prevention program for this population. The Risk/Need/Responsivity (RNR) Model and the Good Lives Model (GLM) are widely used offender rehabilitation models that can be considered the guiding principles in developing this program. Furthermore, it utilises contemporary therapeutic frameworks such as Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and GLM reconceptualization and skills. The program is grounded in trauma-informed principles, which acknowledge this client group's high prevalence of victimisation. Responsivity issues are addressed by identifying cognitive difficulties experienced by this cohort and the implications for treatment.
A case study will demonstrate the application of the VRP-ID program with an offender with ID. It is envisaged that this paper will provide an impetus for clinicians and researchers to consider utilising evidence-based psychological interventions for offenders with ID who have committed violent offences.