The Devolved Nations DFP conference

About

The Devolved Nation Branches of the Division of Forensic Psychology are delighted to invite you to a virtual morning session dated 22nd August to hear the fantastic Dr Joseph Sakdalan and Dr Anna Motz deliver their Keynote presentations highlighting new developments within the forensic arena.

Please note: This event is only for attendees who registered for the Devolved Nations Conference on 1st March 2024. 

Speakers

Anna Motz

Anna Motz is a Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist who has worked in forensic settings for the NHS for 30 years, specialising in evaluation and psychotherapeutic work with criminalised women. Anna currently works for Central and North West London NHS Trust within HMP Bronzefield, providing specialist consultation, assessment and treatment for high-risk women within the EOS Service, in partnership with Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service. She is a member of the Advisory Board for Female Offenders, under the Ministry of Justice. She has extensive experience of the assessment and treatment of women within forensic services, and with the staff who care for them. She has expertise in organisational dynamics and the impact of this work on teams. Anna was formerly the President of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy and also works as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice. She is a Mentalization Based Therapy Supervisor and supervises groups for people with antisocial personality disorder internationally.

Thinking under fire: therapeutic work with women in custody

Dr Joseph Allan Sakdalan

BSc, MA (CounsPsych), MSc(ForPsych), MPH, MD, PhD (ClinPsych), PGDipNeuroPsych
Dr Sakdalan is a clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, and clinical neuropsychologist in Australia and New Zealand with over 25 years of clinical experience conducting assessments and treating complex clients with mental health problems, complex trauma, neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive disorders, personality disorders, and offending behaviours in forensic mental health and disability settings. Dr Sakdalan is a Principal Psychologist for Court Reports at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare) and a Lecturer and Clinical Supervisor in Clinical Psychology at the Cairnmillar Institute in Victoria, Australia.

Dr Sakdalan has pioneered the adaptation of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for clients with intellectual disabilities, sexual and violent offenders, and neurodivergent clients. He has developed a suite of innovative offence-related and offence-specific treatment programs (e.g. sexual offending, family violence, general offending, treatment readiness, substance abuse, violent offending, etc.) implemented in forensic and correctional services locally and internationally. Dr Sakdalan has provided training on utilising a neurodiversity-affirming approach to assessing and treating autistic and ADHD clients with co-occurring and co-morbid conditions in community and forensic settings. He has presented at numerous international conferences and published peer-reviewed journal articles in his specialty areas.
Dr Sakdalan is passionate about teaching and mentoring psychologists and other mental health professionals to develop their skills in assessing and treating clients with complex presentations. He calls Australia home, loves travelling, and spends his spare time on their hobby farm.

Abstract

There is an overrepresentation of neurodivergence, specifically autistic and ADHD individuals, within the criminal justice system (CJS). The interaction between the CJS and neurodivergence can be fraught with challenges that highlight the neurodivergent individual's cognitive, emotional and psychological vulnerabilities. Mental health professionals generally have limited training in neurodivergence and neuro-affirming approaches to assessment and treatment. The challenges for mental health professionals include issues around biased assessments, inflexible mindsets and attitudes, double empathy problems, and limited knowledge and skills in assessing this client group. This talk aims to address these issues and proposes a pathway to developing a more neuro-affirming forensic assessment and treatment. 

Programme

09.30 – Welcome
09.40-10.40 – Anna Motz: Thinking under Fire: therapeutic work with women in
custody
10.40-11.30 – Dr Joseph Sakdalan: The neurodivergent dilemma: A move
towards a Neurodiversity Affirming Approach to Assessment and Treatment of
Forensic Clients with Complex Presentations.
11.30 – Close

Contact us

If you have any questions please contact us at [email protected].