Frequent detainees under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act: A Realistic Evaluation exploration of the phenomenon of repeated detention and the process of change through practitioner developed innovations

I began my career working in the probation service as a group facilitator running offending behaviour programmes for general offending, drink driving, substance misuse and domestic violence. Alongside this I completed my MSc in Forensic Psychology; my dissertation looked at the engagement and retention of people in offending behaviour programmes. Shortly after completing my MSc I moved to work on a national study examining continuity of access to mental and physical health care for people as they moved through the criminal justice system. When this project ended I moved to work as a primary care mental health practitioner in a prison. This experience has given me a strong interest in engaging hard to reach populations in mental health care and informing policy makers of innovative practices developed at the ground level.

My PhD has been developed from Professor Bendelow’s Section 136 in Sussex research, on which I was the research assistant. The original study has revealed many of the complexities involved in this highly controversial legislation and I am keen to continue to engage those with lived experience to improve our understanding the main issues involved in repeated detention. My research aims to find out how the care of people who are repeatedly detained can be improved in order to reduce multiple detentions. The study will consist of four parts:

1. A national census of data recording practices around repeated detention;
2. Analysis of anonymous secondary data;
3. Interviews with people who have been repeatedly detained;
4. Interviews with professionals exploring how they assess the needs of those repeatedly detained.

The Wellcome Trust (Society and Ethics)

Professor Gillian Bendelow

Professor Phil Haynes

Dr Julia Stroud