Life experiences of individuals treated in high security forensic psychiatric hospitals: A grounded theory study

Persons with a mental illness who are not aware of the crime they have committed and who do not know the consequences of their actions are not punished. However, to protect the society, the courts apply compulsory psychiatric treatment to these people. Countries have developed a method specific to their own conditions in compulsory treatments. As of 2018, YGAP were opened in Turkey and individuals included in the judicial system started to receive treatment in these hospitals. Both the inclusion of the judicial system and the effort to cope with the existing psychiatric problems can cause the individuals and their families to experience various psychosocial problems in the society. In this context, the main purpose of the research is; to comprehend the psychosocial processes of individuals involved in the forensic psychiatric system and the difficulties they encounter in these processes within the framework of their rights, and to analyze them in multiple ways. Grounded theory approach, which is one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the research. In the research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 individuals who were treated in YGAP, 5 family members and 10 forensic psychiatry professionals, using the semi-structured interview instruction. Individuals and caregivers were reached through an association. The obtained data were analyzed by the MAXQDA 20 program. As a result of the analysis, the categories were grouped under 5 main themes. The need for structuring the forensic psychiatric system, meeting the psychosocial needs of the individual and the family in the forensic psychiatric process, ensuring risk management in forensic psychiatry, the need to protect human rights and the need for effective interventions by the social worker at every stage of the forensic psychiatric process are the main results of the study. In addition, a rights-based "Case Management in Forensic Psychiatry" model proposal has been presented to meet the psychosocial needs of the individuals and their familys based on the results of the research.