Dan Lawrence is a forensic psychologist who is based in a secure mental health service in south wales where he provides input into medium and low secure services for men. He is also a PhD student, associate tutor and academic supervisor at Cardiff Metropolitan University. He conducted an important scoping study into the effect of restrictive practices in adult forensic mental health services. D Lawrence et al.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14999013.2021.1887978?journalCode=ufmh20

"The studies were grouped into four main areas: 1) Nature of the problem describing the type, incidence, prevalence and scope of restrictive practices in secure mental health services; 2) Service user perceptions and experiences of restrictive practices; 3) Staff experiences, views and decision making; and 4) Interventions designed to reduce the use of restrictive practices. Findings support the notion that restrictive practices have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of most service users in adult secure services as well as the staff who use them. Continued efforts to reduce restrictive practices are needed and the importance of collaborative working cannot be understated. Implications for future research, clinical practice, policy and best practice guidelines are all discussed."

 

You can find a transcript of this conversation over on our Substack at:

https://open.substack.com/pub/lockedupliving/p/dan-lawrence-working-with-people?r=216eb0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web