Disturbed female offenders: helping the 'untreatable'

Abstract Ten highly disturbed women on the psychiatric wing of HMP Holloway, who had experienced difficulty in obtaining beds in NHS secure facilities, were interviewed and completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory II (MCMI-II). The results of the interviews and the MCMI-II, which both showed extreme ambivalence in the women's relationships, are discussed in terms of attachment theory. It is suggested that the ‘treatability’ criterion of the Mental Health Act is used to exclude from forensic psychiatric services women who are challenging to work with and who do not fit easily into a medical model. It is argued that ‘help’, as opposed to ‘treatment’, is a meaningful concept within the terms of the Act and that the gap in service provision through which these women fall could be filled by ‘attachment-minded’ services that have ‘help’ as their primary aim.