A humane app roach towards interned persons
Court-mandated treatment, such as the internment measure, aims protection of society and treatment of the individual. These two goals are not easily reconcilable. The tension between care and control influences, amongst others, working alliances during court-mandated treatment. Supportive working alliances are however of major importance for the process and outcomes of court-mandated treatment. This raises the question on how care and control can be (more) balanced during these working alliances. In this contribution we approach this question from the perspective of interned persons in Flanders. Our analysis shows that interned persons find it important to be approached ‘as humans’. Such a humane approach is characterized by connectedness, participation, a holistic and solution-focused way of working, and authoritativeness. If professionals take these characteristics into account, care and control can be reconciled (more) during working alliances in the context of court-mandated treatment.