Forensic psychiatric outpatient treatment and its importance for the success of forensic work (section 64 of the German criminal code)

Forensic psychiatric outpatient work has a stabilizing effect: two-thirds of the subjects in a quality-of-results study (N = 450) do not relapse into addiction or delinquency, and after about two and a half years, more than half of the 275 subjects discharged from the outpatient clinic are able to complete regular treatment. The duration, but also the type of therapeutic interventions, depend on individual needs and the course of treatment. The outpatient clientele is largely in work and socially integrated, delinquency is a minority problem however, the success rates decrease with time after release. The outcome predictors relevant for forensic psychiatric institutions are the same in outpatient treatment: low criminological burden, older age, successful inpatient treatment pre-release. Follow-up studies of regularly discharged outpatients (n = 103) indicate a stabilizing effect of the treatment: 80 % of regularly discharged patients master the first period without therapeutic support recidivism-free. Occasional crises mainly occur with relapse of substance use, but hardly ever with delinquent behaviour.