Family School Peer Individual Community Background Info
Clinical Approaches in Forensic Psychology Coursework:
Case Study of ‘Tom’
Tom is a 21-year-old White male who has been convicted of attempted murder and
sentenced to seven years in a Category B prison. The index offence took place in a
home that Tom was attempting to burgle with some of his friends. Tom thought no-
one was home but was taken by surprise by the homeowner. Tom was carrying a
knife at the time and seriously injured him. Tom reports that he was ‘high’ at the time
of the offence, having smoked cannabis all day, and was not fully aware of his
actions. Tom finds it hard to empathise with his victim and blames him for having
taken the day off work – in Tom’s words, “if he’d gone to work, like he was supposed
to, then he wouldn’t have been hurt”.
Tom has a history of violent crimes, starting from the age of 12 when he was
convicted of carrying an offensive weapon (i.e., knife). He has been incarcerated
multiple times throughout his teenage years for burglary, assault and drug dealing.
Tom has been a member of his local gang since he started secondary school, where
there is a high prevalence of gang members. The gang is very ‘pro-violence’ and
regularly engages in fights with rival gangs. His peers are also regular users of
drugs, and Tom remembers feeling pressured into it when he first started smoking
cannabis.
Tom comes from a single parent household and has two younger siblings. His mum
now works three jobs to pay the rent, but Tom reports that he often went hungry as a
child. When Tom was seven, his mum had to put him in foster care for a year after
she was made redundant. Tom reports this as a traumatic event that has significantly
hindered his mental health. It has also impacted negatively on Tom’s relationship
with his mum, he doesn’t trust her and doesn’t listen to her when she tells him what
he can/can’t do. Tom’s mum has tried to stop him hanging out with his gang peers
but has been unable to make this happen.
Tom has very little contact with his dad and wants a father figure in his life, which he
reports getting from some of the older gang members. Tom did get close to a couple
of his mum’s boyfriends when he was a child, but when the relationships ended, he
lost contact and felt like he had been abandoned by them.
Tom has been in a relationship on-and-off with a girl from school for two years. He
reports that this relationship has often been volatile, and they have been violent
towards each other. The people he feels closest to are his gang peers, but he
doesn’t get much emotional support from them, particularly when he’s struggling with
his mental health. Tom has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. He also
has ADHD and behaves very impulsively. Tom fails to adhere to his medication
regime given by his doctor, often because he ‘forgets’ to take them or gets
distracted.
Clinical Approaches in Forensic Psychology Coursework:
Case Study of ‘Tom’
Tom is a 21-year-old White male who has been convicted of attempted murder and
sentenced to seven years in a Category B prison. The index offence took place in a
home that Tom was attempting to burgle with some of his friends. Tom thought no-
one was home but was taken by surprise by the homeowner. Tom was carrying a
knife at the time and seriously injured him. Tom reports that he was ‘high’ at the time
of the offence, having smoked cannabis all day, and was not fully aware of his
actions. Tom finds it hard to empathise with his victim and blames him for having
taken the day off work – in Tom’s words, “if he’d gone to work, like he was supposed
to, then he wouldn’t have been hurt”.
Tom has a history of violent crimes, starting from the age of 12 when he was
convicted of carrying an offensive weapon (i.e., knife). He has been incarcerated
multiple times throughout his teenage years for burglary, assault and drug dealing.
Tom has been a member of his local gang since he started secondary school, where
there is a high prevalence of gang members. The gang is very ‘pro-violence’ and
regularly engages in fights with rival gangs. His peers are also regular users of
drugs, and Tom remembers feeling pressured into it when he first started smoking
cannabis.
Tom comes from a single parent household and has two younger siblings. His mum
now works three jobs to pay the rent, but Tom reports that he often went hungry as a
child. When Tom was seven, his mum had to put him in foster care for a year after
she was made redundant. Tom reports this as a traumatic event that has significantly
hindered his mental health. It has also impacted negatively on Tom’s relationship
with his mum, he doesn’t trust her and doesn’t listen to her when she tells him what
he can/can’t do. Tom’s mum has tried to stop him hanging out with his gang peers
but has been unable to make this happen.
Tom has very little contact with his dad and wants a father figure in his life, which he
reports getting from some of the older gang members. Tom did get close to a couple
of his mum’s boyfriends when he was a child, but when the relationships ended, he
lost contact and felt like he had been abandoned by them.
Tom has been in a relationship on-and-off with a girl from school for two years. He
reports that this relationship has often been volatile, and they have been violent
towards each other. The people he feels closest to are his gang peers, but he
doesn’t get much emotional support from them, particularly when he’s struggling with
his mental health. Tom has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. He also
has ADHD and behaves very impulsively. Tom fails to adhere to his medication
regime given by his doctor, often because he ‘forgets’ to take them or gets
distracted.
