There has been a significant increase in people bailed to residential drug treatment in Victoria in recent years. Yet no research has examined the effects of this, despite potential tensions with person-centred principles aligning healthcare with people’s needs and preferences. Examining these tensions, this paper draws on observations and 41 in-depth interviews with residents and workers of a residential rehabilitation service in Eastern Australia. Despite strong institutional alignments with person-centred principles at the service, analysis highlights that criminal legal orders complicate care, fostering “quasi-carceral” care models that produce greater vulnerability and institutional dependency among residents. Findings reveal burdens for services and residents in managing conflicting care imperatives and the importance of addressing incongruities between the needs of people mandated to drug treatment and other residents.
Examining tensions between person-centred and carceral care in residential rehabilitation
Ramez Bathish | Research Officer and PhD Candidate, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University; Eastern Health, Turning Point
Ramez Bathish is a PhD candidate and Research Officer at Monash University’s Eastern Health Clinical School, based at Turning Point. Ramez has a background in community development, harm reduction and community health. Ramez’s PhD examines people’s experiences of alcohol and other drug residential rehabilitation. His research interests include care and treatment, addiction and recovery concepts.
Credited Persons
Michael Savic | Senior Research Fellow (Addiction Studies), Strategic Lead of Clinical & Social Research, Turning Point Monash University, Eastern Health, Turning Point
Cameron Duff | Professor Centre for Organisations and Social Change, College of Business and Law, RMIT University
The … stream is sponsored by
