The “Hector” case and the community rehabilitation of offenders with Intellectual Disability and psychiatric disorders

TL;DR

This paper discusses the rehabilitation journey of Hector, a man with intellectual disability and psychiatric issues who committed serious offenses.

Contribution

The paper presents a case study on community rehabilitation for offenders with intellectual disability and psychiatric disorders.

Findings

Hector's mood and cognitive integration improved through psychiatric and rehabilitation treatments.

He became more conscious of his crimes and the victims' suffering over time.

Gardening activities were part of his rehabilitation process.

Abstract

Hector, 44 years, with mild Intellectual Disability and impulse control disorder, committed serious sexual offences against two children of his partner. Considered “socially dangerous”, he was put in prison, then with a deferment of the enforcement of the prison sentence in the forms of home detention he was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility due to his depressive condition. Upon entering the Community, he presented a deflected mood as a reaction to the discomfort from the custodial experience, which was not cognitively integrated. Both psychotropic and rehabilitation treatments started. He has been involved in a gardening activity, too. After a first period of high degree of denial of the facts and a defensive mode marked by stolidity and fatuity, revealing his poor cognitive resources, during the psychiatric sessions he became even more conscious of his crime and the suffering of the victims. Services/pathways available for offenders with ID and psychiatric disorders will be presented.

None Declared