Conducting individualised theory-driven assessments of violent offenders

The clinical and academic literature exploring aggression and approaches to its therapy and management focuses on what is termed 'habitual aggression' (Huesmann 1998; Martens 2000). Habitual aggression describes individuals whose aggression has occurred more than once, suggesting a development or continuation of an aggressive behaviour pattern. Habitual aggression is a useful concept with which to commence this chapter, since the populations who come into contact with professional services for aggression management needs will generally fall into this group of aggressors. It is this group of individuals which the current chapter will most concern itself with. The chapter will commence by providing an introduction to the importance of attending to the correct literature base when trying to assess habitual aggression and the importance of concepts such as motivation, adaptation and client strength. All of these will be attended to in turn prior to detailed consideration of the frameworks which can be employed and the areas which should be the focus of assessment. To illustrate some of the points made, examples from a long-term violence treatment programme, the Life Minus Violence programme (see Ireland 2007), will be referred to, including the revised version of this programme, Life Minus Violence - Enhanced. The purpose of this is simply to provide some worked examples by illustrating a treatment programme which has been developed with attention to the aggression literature.