Special Foreword

I am truly delighted by the launch of our new publication, The International Journal of Forensic Psychotherapy, a marvellous collaboration between the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy and Phoenix Publishing House.

I regard the birth of this international journal as the culmination of my most ambitious, lifetime project—the creation of a new profession of forensic psychotherapy. This periodical will provide us all with a fantastic opportunity to share our knowledge and expertise worldwide. A distinguished academic and clinical journal of this nature will lend gravitas to our work and will help to foster links and collaborations across countries and continents. In this way, we can disseminate and augment our knowledge of how we can treat the most antisocial, delinquent criminals in the most effective and humane ways possible.

It saddens me that throughout much of my professional life the emphasis has always been placed on the offence rather than on the offender, and, moreover, that attention has been devoted to punishment rather than to treatment. Indeed, any attempts at a psychodynamic understanding of offenders and their delinquent actions have been marginalised or ignored completely. It is my deep hope that The International Journal of Forensic Psychotherapy will not only create a rich community of forensic psychotherapeutic practitioners, but will also reach society more widely in the hope of preventing further criminal actions.

When, as members of the public, we become confronted by acts of violence, through the clever wording of newspapers and other forms of media, we become bombarded by seemingly odd and bizarre acts of cruelty. Our automatic response tends to be one of shock, disbelief and, most worryingly, condemnation. Hearing about, or reading about, acts of criminality often results in a loss of our usual intellectual capacities. We become a bit stupid, ignorant, judgemental, and devoid of any sense of discernment. Rather than attempting t