The Place of Psychiatry in Probation

Recalling the past: probation officers work with drug misusers during the 1960s

“…In respect of one client in particular, she continued: ‘I think it was all so awful that these drugs … just kept it all at bay and she was never really off 'em enough for [anything] to really surface … what would happen is she'd try to cut them down and then when it started to surface and we might have got somewhere, it was so painful that she had to put the cork in …’ . To the extent that there was anything approaching an ‘official’ line on drug abuse within the probation service at this time, this pseudo‐psychoanalytical position represented its closest representation .…”

“…The link between psychiatry and probation has long been a feature of the Service's work , and certainly the influence of psychiatry was a noticeable feature of the interviewees thinking about addiction. Without exception, everyone in the sample recalled the medical dominance of addiction and in particular the principal role of psychiatrists.…”

“…While attempts at collaborative working are borne out in both the literature and in the testimonies of respondents, certainly in terms of the recollections of those interviewed here, there remained a sense that drug use was principally a medical problem and hence it was the psychiatrist that directed intervention: ‘I think it was a little bit more than ferrying, but I think I always recognized that if I had to ferry I would ferry … I was always asked to provide reports, I was always asked to try and link with families and I was always asked to attend meetings at the hospital and patient conferences … so there was some inclusivity … I suppose what I'm trying to illustrate is it was a robust relationship … with the psychiatrist, but I think they really held … all the power, they handled all the treatment and they might have held us in respect and … asked us about things, but they were running the thing, not us’…”