title: Implementing family intervention within forensic services: the perspectives of clinical staff.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies have investigated the perspectives of staff on the implementation of family intervention in forensic services. This may be crucial to overcome the barriers to successful implementation of this therapy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the perspectives and experiences of forensic staff in implementing family interventions in forensic settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  Staff responded to two open-ended questions about the (i) barriers and (ii) solutions to poor implementation of family intervention. Responses were subject to thematic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-five forensic staff responded. The analysis showed that five themes represented the barriers of family intervention: insufficient time, poor support, lack of training, deficient information sharing and geographic limitations. In response to these barriers, staff provided practical solutions for a family intervention service: a clear pathway, protected staff time, revised policy and structure specific to family intervention, improved supervision, increased managerial support, shared education and modernisation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By including staff with a wealth of experience of working within forensic services and delivering family interventions, this study generated rich information on the implementation of family interventions. Staff themes highlighted key barriers, together with solutions to those barriers, in order to successfully implement a family intervention service within forensic services.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Absalom-Hornby
authors.forename: Patricia Ann
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gooding
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tarrier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000379:methods; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008503:Medical Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires