Women’s Mental Health Treatment Requirement

This is a pan-London service to reduce custodial sentences and improve the wellbeing of women in the criminal justice system experiencing mental distress. Treatment requirements offer courts an alternative to short custodial sentences and aim to prevent reoffending by addressing underlying vulnerabilities and improving a woman’s quality of life. This service aims to increase the use of primary care treatment requirements as part of a community sentence, offering psychologically informed interventions and advice. The MHTR Service provides the courts with the information and confidence to sentence to robust and effective treatment requirements.

The London WMHTR service screens and assesses individuals identifying as female, including trans women and non-binary individuals assigned female at birth, who have been identified by Probation, Liaison and Diversion, Judiciary, or themselves, as potentially suitable for a MHTR. The referral is screened by Clinical Leads and assessed by Assistant Senior Psychologists. If the person is assessed to be suitable and consents to be referred to the service, a report will be shared with probation who will include the recommendation in the Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) for consideration. If MHTR is part of the sentence, the WMHTR Service will deliver 10-12 sessions of person-centred psychological intervention over a specified period, determined by the court. We work closely with Liaison and Diversion Services across London, as well as Probation Service London, the Courts, substance misuse providers and third sector organisations to ensure that the service user has access to appropriate services to meet their mental health and social needs.

The service aims to:

1. Reduce offending/reoffending by improving health and social outcomes, through rapid access to effective individualised treatment requirements
2. Provide alternatives to short custodial sentences, by providing access to mental health treatment which addresses the underlying cause of the offending
3. Improve health outcomes, by providing evidence-based interventions, GP registration and supported access to appropriate community services where necessary
4. Provide accessible services which enable engagement
5. Strive for early sentencing, or as advised by the court
6. Enable access to statutory community services

Enquiries

For more information about The Together Wellbeing Pathway, please contact Chloe Piper.