The Canadian Psychological Association has recognized Dr. Drew Kingston as one of its 28 Canadian research innovators. Dr. Kingston is a psychologist at the Secure Treatment Unit (STU) at The Royal's Brockville Mental Health Centre. He researches best practices in treating offenders with mental illness.
Traditionally, interventions in a forensic setting emphasize treating mental illness in order to reduce the risk of future criminal behaviour.
Dr. Kingston’s research shows that for most offenders with mental illness, the risk factors for re-offending are the same as those in the general population — antisocial attitudes, lack of education, family or marital problems, and substance use, to name a few. These risk factors are called criminogenic needs.
By treating the two types of needs — criminogenic and mental health — independently and simultaneously, the STU is successfully reducing recidivism while providing effective mental health care.
“I am very appreciative for being recognized as a Canadian research innovator,” he says. “My research and clinical collaborators and I are very excited to continue our work on establishing and implementing best practices in treating offenders with mental illness.”
The STU is a 100-bed correctional and mental health hybrid facility. It’s one-of-a-kind in Canada, and serves 26 other provincial correctional facilities across Ontario. It’s the product of collaboration with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. The Royal is contracted to provide secure assessment, treatment and discharge planning to adult male offenders with severe mental illness who are serving provincial sentences.