Royal College of Psychiatrists Award for DTC student Jack Tomlin

The project ‘Restrictiveness in Forensic Psychiatric Care: Exploring Patient Experience’ was awarded the Forensic Research Prize at the Royal College of Psychiatrists Forensic Faculty 2018 Conference. The study by Jack Tomlin, Prof. Peter Bartlett and Prof. Birgit Völlm was presented by the lead author on March 1^st in Nottingham.

The project, an ESRC-funded Doctoral programme, aims to conceptualize restrictiveness in adult forensic settings through literature, anecdotal and empirical evidence. Interviews were conducted at different secure hospitals wherein patients highlighted multiple examples of the restrictiveness of their care and its consequences. Being deprived of liberty in both a legal and factual sense, it is crucial secure hospitals do not restrict patients any more than needed to achieve the discipline’s dual aims of treatment and harm reduction. Overly restrictive environments can engender pessimism, poor therapeutic relationships, underdeveloped occupational and social skillsets, hinder patient recovery and violate human rights.