Contact with a forensic psychiatric patient

Diana Popken is a social worker in FPC de Oostvaarderskliniek (forensic psychiatric clinic). On the website of Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen (correctional facilities service), she writes a blog about her work in the forensic psychiatric clinic. During a mediation between a victim or relative of the deceased and a forensic psychiatric patient, she guides the patient. 

Mediation

“A loaded subject that I, as a social worker, often offer support with is about feelings of shame and guilt that some patients have surrounding the crime they committed. Together with Perspectief Herstelbemiddeling and Victim Support Netherlands, I guide patients during mediations. In such a process, victim and perpetrator get in contact with each other. This can help both people with their recovery from the event. For example, if they want to, I sometimes visit the victims or relatives of the deceased to explain more about the forensic psychiatric treatment, the work we do in the clinic, and how the leave process works. 

For me, as a staff member of a forensic psychiatric clinic, this is extremely important. This way, I can also hear their story and experience their feelings, meaning I don’t only consider the treatment of the patient, but also the harm that was done to the victims. The message from their end is often: “Pay attention to the other side! For us they’re ‘perpetrators’ while for you they’re ‘patients’.”