PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Yakeley, Jessica AU - Adshead, Gwen TI - Locks, Keys, and Security of Mind: Psychodynamic Approaches to Forensic Psychiatry DP - 2013 Mar 01 TA - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online PG - 38--45 VI - 41 IP - 1 4099 - http://jaapl.org/content/41/1/38.short 4100 - http://jaapl.org/content/41/1/38.full SO - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2013 Mar 01; 41 AB - In this article, we discuss psychological approaches to the understanding of acts of violence and, specifically, psychodynamic approaches to both formulation and treatment. We suggest that the key theoretical paradigm of a psychodynamic approach involves the exploration and elaboration of the meaning of a violent act for the offender and describe the relevance of this approach for both legal assessments and clinical services in secure residential care. We argue that a psychodynamic approach can improve the quality of assessments of both psychopathology and risk and inform effective therapeutic interventions in hard-to-treat patients.