Forensic Mental Health System Assessment Analysis

I will be analyzing the Forensic Mental Health System (FMHS) in Ontario, with specific attention to Forensic Inpatient/Outpatient units whose goals are to provide rehabilitation services and facilitate successful reintegration into the community. Through this assessment, I want to gain a better understanding of how these FMH programs facilitate trust and address barriers of stigma and disenfranchisement that many clients under the Ontario Review Board (ORB) face. The FMHS in Ontario is comprised of the network of professionals and services within the mental health and the criminal justice systems (CJS). These two systems alone are ineffective in treating mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) (Bettridge, & Barbaree, 2008); making the practices
The “Forensic Empowerment Tool” (see appendix A) was created to allow for a discussion on a complex system to enable clients to feel heard and empowered through the realization and understanding that their actions and choices have a direct impact on their progress through the ORB. Developed in consultation with clients and essential FMHS actors (i.e. forensic unit clinicians and Client Relations Officer), this tool is meant to enhance client control within the organization since it views them as equal partners in the tool development and in its’ subsequent use in treatment (Hardina et al, 2007). Implementation goals are to have this tool rolled out in all of the secure and general units, as well as outpatient services in the coming months. The fact that any clinical staff can administer this tool with their clients helps eliminate any power-differentials felt among staff and encourages staff empowerment to create change within the organization (Hardina, 2005). Furthermore, this tool appears address the issues of stigma and disenfranchisement in a low-budget, simplistic, and client-centred way, which is likely appealing to organizational