David Jones | Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (original) (raw)
Papers by David Jones
Ten years ago the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme (DSPD) was launched. There ... more Ten years ago the Dangerous
and Severe Personality Disorder
Programme (DSPD) was launched.
There were initial human rights
concerns about forcibly detaining
and treating offenders before they
had committed offences. Many
of the key issues have been well
described elsewhere (Seddon,
2008).
The internal world of a murderer can be a complex area, characterised by pain, anger and separati... more The internal world of a murderer can be a complex area, characterised by pain, anger and separation. The pain of the knowledge of what has been done and the separation from this and other feelings threaten to overwhelm and annihilate the ego. The murderer has committed the ultimate crime and is in receipt of the opprobrium of society and, often, of themselves. The author looks at this phenomenon illustrating it with clinical vignettes and considers the parallel process that can occur in therapists and staff groups. The consequences for staff dynamics are discussed.
Key words: murderer, offence(s), malign regression, staff groups, staff dynamics
Over fifty years ago Edward Glover wrote that ‘the hunt for a specific etiology of the condition ... more Over fifty years ago Edward Glover wrote that ‘the hunt for a specific etiology of the condition [criminal pychopathy] is as yet far from the kill.’ (Edward Glover 1960 p 148) Despite the passage of time and a revival of interest in investigating and treating the condition of psychopathy it seems that this remains the case. With treatment similarly, we have failed to reach a consensus and neither psychoanalytic nor cognitive behavioural methods have been able to convincingly reduce reoffending and improve the emotional wellbeing of psychopathic offenders although there is greater optimism now than there was twenty years ago. (McGuire 1999)(Martinson 1974)(Abracen et al. 2008)
The flux of consensus regarding treatment efficacy when working with serious offenders usually re... more The flux of consensus regarding treatment efficacy when working with serious offenders usually reflects prevailing social and political tensions. One consequence of this can be the frequently destructive competitiveness between treatments representing different systems of understanding or, in commercially sensitive contexts, different service providers. Furthermore this chapter argues that it is inevitable that the climate that prevails, with its currents of debate and conflict, will affect the state of mind of the therapeutic practitioner and therefore will become a part of the therapeutic milieu. In turn this contributes to the establishment of the therapeutic atmosphere which impacts upon the patient’s capacity or willingness to engage in treatment, his motivation.
This chapter considers sexual offending, its relationship to healthy sexuality, the cultural slip... more This chapter considers sexual offending, its relationship to healthy sexuality, the cultural slipperiness of such terms and the nature of extreme boundary violations with their complex and challenging implications for therapeutic work.
While cultural and social understandings shift according to time
and place, the destructiveness of perverse exploitation remains as a key reference point for therapy and therapists. Team and individual therapist dynamics require constant reflection.
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 2001
ABSTRACT Homosexuality has a central place in the history and development of psychoanalysis. Freu... more ABSTRACT Homosexuality has a central place in the history and development of psychoanalysis. Freud correctly identified‘difference’ as a starting place for an investigation into the dynamics of sexuality. Unwittingly he also instigated thinking that raised, among some analysts, a desire for curative action. The absence of insights from the countertransference debate influenced psychoanalytic thinking for a period, obscured the benefits that might accrue from the analyst's recognition of his intrinsic bisexuality and, more recently, fuelled a popular reaction which argues that homosexuality is not a matter for psychoanalytic investigation but a healthy extension of the personality. The profession similarly has been divided. This paper contends that homosexuality should remain an area for psychoanalytic consideration. There are transference and countertransference issues to examine that include shame, disgust, anger and revenge.While such emotions and reactions are not unique to the area of homosexuality they may lead to particularly destructive effects if left unobserved in our work and in ourselves.
One man smashes the skull of a friend, cuts o his penis and drowns him in apparent response to a ... more One man smashes the skull of a friend, cuts o his penis and drowns him in apparent response to a crude remark about his sexuality. A second turns to see an acquaintance undoing the trousers of a friend and commits a murder of quite extreme proportions, again involving mutilation of the victim's penis. The third kills in fear of having his homosexuality exposed, not least to himself, and later comes to believe that he was the victim of a conspiracy. In each of these cases the perpetrator claimed to be disgusted and outraged at the actions of the victim.
Talks by David Jones
Locked Up Living Podcast, 2022
Conversation with Professor Tammi Walker of Durham University in honour of International Women's ... more Conversation with Professor Tammi Walker of Durham University in honour of International Women's Day 2022. Tammi is Professor of forensic psychology at Durham University and also principal of St Cuthbert Society. She holds a visiting position at Manchester University. Although she's now a chartered psychologist,she originally trained as a mental health nurse and has extensive experience working in forensic settings as an applied practitioner, which underpins her research. She's written a number of books on women's issues and forensic practice, and the book she co-authored with Graham Towl "Preventing Self-injury and suicide in women's prisons" won the BPS 2017 Book of the Year award. She and Graham also edit a series of books for Routledge in Forensic Practice. In this conversation Tammi discusses her research into women in prison who self-harm and an intervention to address this as well as her involvement in initiatives taken by Durham University to address sexual violence.
Ten years ago the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme (DSPD) was launched. There ... more Ten years ago the Dangerous
and Severe Personality Disorder
Programme (DSPD) was launched.
There were initial human rights
concerns about forcibly detaining
and treating offenders before they
had committed offences. Many
of the key issues have been well
described elsewhere (Seddon,
2008).
The internal world of a murderer can be a complex area, characterised by pain, anger and separati... more The internal world of a murderer can be a complex area, characterised by pain, anger and separation. The pain of the knowledge of what has been done and the separation from this and other feelings threaten to overwhelm and annihilate the ego. The murderer has committed the ultimate crime and is in receipt of the opprobrium of society and, often, of themselves. The author looks at this phenomenon illustrating it with clinical vignettes and considers the parallel process that can occur in therapists and staff groups. The consequences for staff dynamics are discussed.
Key words: murderer, offence(s), malign regression, staff groups, staff dynamics
Over fifty years ago Edward Glover wrote that ‘the hunt for a specific etiology of the condition ... more Over fifty years ago Edward Glover wrote that ‘the hunt for a specific etiology of the condition [criminal pychopathy] is as yet far from the kill.’ (Edward Glover 1960 p 148) Despite the passage of time and a revival of interest in investigating and treating the condition of psychopathy it seems that this remains the case. With treatment similarly, we have failed to reach a consensus and neither psychoanalytic nor cognitive behavioural methods have been able to convincingly reduce reoffending and improve the emotional wellbeing of psychopathic offenders although there is greater optimism now than there was twenty years ago. (McGuire 1999)(Martinson 1974)(Abracen et al. 2008)
The flux of consensus regarding treatment efficacy when working with serious offenders usually re... more The flux of consensus regarding treatment efficacy when working with serious offenders usually reflects prevailing social and political tensions. One consequence of this can be the frequently destructive competitiveness between treatments representing different systems of understanding or, in commercially sensitive contexts, different service providers. Furthermore this chapter argues that it is inevitable that the climate that prevails, with its currents of debate and conflict, will affect the state of mind of the therapeutic practitioner and therefore will become a part of the therapeutic milieu. In turn this contributes to the establishment of the therapeutic atmosphere which impacts upon the patient’s capacity or willingness to engage in treatment, his motivation.
This chapter considers sexual offending, its relationship to healthy sexuality, the cultural slip... more This chapter considers sexual offending, its relationship to healthy sexuality, the cultural slipperiness of such terms and the nature of extreme boundary violations with their complex and challenging implications for therapeutic work.
While cultural and social understandings shift according to time
and place, the destructiveness of perverse exploitation remains as a key reference point for therapy and therapists. Team and individual therapist dynamics require constant reflection.
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 2001
ABSTRACT Homosexuality has a central place in the history and development of psychoanalysis. Freu... more ABSTRACT Homosexuality has a central place in the history and development of psychoanalysis. Freud correctly identified‘difference’ as a starting place for an investigation into the dynamics of sexuality. Unwittingly he also instigated thinking that raised, among some analysts, a desire for curative action. The absence of insights from the countertransference debate influenced psychoanalytic thinking for a period, obscured the benefits that might accrue from the analyst's recognition of his intrinsic bisexuality and, more recently, fuelled a popular reaction which argues that homosexuality is not a matter for psychoanalytic investigation but a healthy extension of the personality. The profession similarly has been divided. This paper contends that homosexuality should remain an area for psychoanalytic consideration. There are transference and countertransference issues to examine that include shame, disgust, anger and revenge.While such emotions and reactions are not unique to the area of homosexuality they may lead to particularly destructive effects if left unobserved in our work and in ourselves.
One man smashes the skull of a friend, cuts o his penis and drowns him in apparent response to a ... more One man smashes the skull of a friend, cuts o his penis and drowns him in apparent response to a crude remark about his sexuality. A second turns to see an acquaintance undoing the trousers of a friend and commits a murder of quite extreme proportions, again involving mutilation of the victim's penis. The third kills in fear of having his homosexuality exposed, not least to himself, and later comes to believe that he was the victim of a conspiracy. In each of these cases the perpetrator claimed to be disgusted and outraged at the actions of the victim.
Locked Up Living Podcast, 2022
Conversation with Professor Tammi Walker of Durham University in honour of International Women's ... more Conversation with Professor Tammi Walker of Durham University in honour of International Women's Day 2022. Tammi is Professor of forensic psychology at Durham University and also principal of St Cuthbert Society. She holds a visiting position at Manchester University. Although she's now a chartered psychologist,she originally trained as a mental health nurse and has extensive experience working in forensic settings as an applied practitioner, which underpins her research. She's written a number of books on women's issues and forensic practice, and the book she co-authored with Graham Towl "Preventing Self-injury and suicide in women's prisons" won the BPS 2017 Book of the Year award. She and Graham also edit a series of books for Routledge in Forensic Practice. In this conversation Tammi discusses her research into women in prison who self-harm and an intervention to address this as well as her involvement in initiatives taken by Durham University to address sexual violence.