TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLIC VIOLENT OFFENDERS - ETHICS AND EFFICACY

The published literature tends to find that the outcome of mandatory t reatment for alcohol dependence is no worse than that for 'voluntary' treatment. Supervised disulfiram has been shown to improve outcome in Court-referred patients. When offenders take treatment offered as part of probation or a deferred sentence, they choose to do so, rather tha n face a penalty. It is not a 'free' choice in the usual sense, but th e outcome can be beneficial to the offender as well as to society and this helps to justify its use. Coping and social skills therapy have v alue, as probably have antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs in some cases. Supervised disulfiram has a role supported by controlled studie s.