Beyond Kindness

The Place of Compassion in a Forensic Mental Health Setting

Authors

  • John Swinton University of Aberdeen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v1i1.11

Keywords:

compassion, forensic mental health care, kindness, spiritual care

Abstract

Caring that is genuinely person-centred and truly compassionate can be difficult in a forensic mental health context. Whilst our professional roles indicate that we need to be kind to offenders no matter what they may have done or how they behave, the question of whether and how we should be compassionate is more complex. Kindness is a personal quality that enables an individual to be sensitive to the needs of others and to take personal action to endeavour to meet those needs. Compassion has to do with a deep awareness of the suffering of another accompanied by the wish to relieve it. Compassion differs from kindness in that its focus is primarily on the alleviation of suffering. Compassion is precisely what many offenders don’t appear to have and yet, compassion is precisely what they often require. In this paper I will explore the complex tension between kindness and compassion and its relationship to spiritual care, with a view to opening up some creative conversations that are theoretically interesting and practically significant for those who offer and receive care within a forensic mental health context.

Author Biography

  • John Swinton, University of Aberdeen

    John Swinton is Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care in the School of Divinity, Religious Studies and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

References

Mercer, D., T. Mason and J. Richman (1999) “Good and Evil in the Crusade of Care: Social Constructions of Mental Disorders”. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing 37.9: 13–17.

Richman, J., D. Mercer and Y. Mason (1999) “The Social Construction of Evil in a Forensic Setting”. The Journal of Forensic Nursing 10.2: 300–308.

Swinton, J. (2007) Raging With Compassion: Pastoral Responses to the Problem of Evil (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007).

—(2012) Dementia: Living in The Memories of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Published

2013-09-25

How to Cite

Swinton, J. (2013). Beyond Kindness: The Place of Compassion in a Forensic Mental Health Setting. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, 1(1), 11-21. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v1i1.11