182 Chapter 7 AIMS Forensic psychiatric patients often have complex care needs and therefore require effective multimodal treatment approaches (Völlm et al., 2018). At the same time, evidence-based interventions are scarce and could be improved (Goulet et al., 2022; MacInnes & Masino, 2019; MacKenzie & Farrington, 2015; McIntosh et al., 2021; Völlm et al., 2018). A supportive social network has been extensively related to increased mental health and wellbeing and reduced criminal recidivism in general and psychiatric populations (Barrick et al., 2014; Berg & Huebner, 2011; Borowsky et al., 1997; Corrigan & Phelan, 2004; Harandi et al., 2017; Heinsch et al., 2022; Lodewijks et al., 2010; Mahmoud et al., 2017; Spjeldnes et al., 2012; Werner-Seidler et al., 2017). Therefore, the central aim of this dissertation was to examine whether an additive informal social network intervention could improve treatment outcomes among forensic psychiatric patients. The findings are expected to contribute to the development and understanding of evidence-based interventions for forensic psychiatric patients, help clinicians incorporate additive informal social network interventions to treatment programs, and guide policy makers. To address the central aim, we first reviewed the existing literature to gain a general understanding of the effectiveness of social network interventions for psychiatric patients (chapter 2). Simultaneously, we developed a study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at examining the effectiveness of an additive informal social network intervention in clinical practice for forensic psychiatric outpatients (chapter 3). Next, we examined the results of the RCT using both qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain an in-depth understanding of participants’ experiences and to determine the effectiveness of the additive social network intervention in forensic psychiatric outpatients, respectively (chapter 4 and chapter 5). In addition, given the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative influence on loneliness, social support, and the provision of mental healthcare in psychiatric patients, we aimed to explore the impact of the restrictions on social relationships of forensic outpatients who participated in the RCT during the COVID-19 pandemic (chapter 6) (Hoffart et al., 2020; Sheridan Rains et al., 2021). In this final chapter, our main findings are summarized and discussed, including strengths and limitations of the research, directions for future research, and implications for clinical practice and policy. Lastly, conclusions are outlined.
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