Looking Beyond the Behaviour: How Forensic Psychology Strengthens Behaviour Change
When people think about behaviour change interventions, they often picture programmes designed to address harmful behaviour. But behind every effective intervention is something just as important: understanding why that behaviour exists in the first place.
As Interventions Alliance’s Forensic Psychologist, Jade Hope plays a key role in ensuring our behaviour change interventions are grounded in evidence, informed by psychology and tailored to the individual.
Understanding the person behind the behaviour
“I’ve always believed that when we understand people better, they have a greater opportunity to change.”
For Jade, an interest in forensic psychology began much earlier than university.
“I recall being about 12 years old and sitting in an anti-bullying presentation at school. There was lots of advice for victims and witnesses about where to go for support and a lot of stern words about how bullying would not be tolerated. I remember coming away from that presentation wondering why nobody was asking why bullying occurs, or what support could be given to those engaging in bullying to change their behaviour.”
Over time, those early questions evolved into a career focused on understanding more complex and harmful behaviours.
“What better way to support victims than by targeting the issue at its source and working towards reducing harmful behaviour and helping people make lasting changes.”
Behaviour is communication
A core principle of forensic psychology is that behaviour serves a purpose.
“Behaviour is always a form of communication, even when someone doesn’t realise what they’re communicating or why.”
Rather than focusing solely on what someone has done, psychological assessment explores the factors that sit beneath harmful behaviour. This may include attachment difficulties, emotional regulation, personality structure, trauma or other underlying needs that influence how someone thinks, feels and behaves.
By developing a deeper understanding of these factors, interventions can move beyond managing behaviour to creating meaningful opportunities for change.
“Awareness is the first step on the road to change.”
Bringing psychology into practice
Within Interventions Alliance’s Behaviour Change Practice, Jade provides clinical oversight across the development, delivery and evaluation of interventions.
She supports the assessment of more complex referrals, including providing assessments of psychopathology and underlying personality structures, contributes to individualised treatment planning and helps ensure interventions are responsive to each person’s needs.
Rather than applying a standard programme to everyone, psychological assessment helps identify:
- a person’s level of risk
- the factors driving their behaviour
- what support they need to engage successfully
- any additional needs, such as neurodiversity, cognitive differences or barriers to engagement.
This approach is informed by the internationally recognised Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model, ensuring interventions are proportionate, targeted and personalised.
Supporting practitioners to deliver effective interventions
Forensic psychology doesn’t only support the people accessing our services. It also strengthens the practice of the Behaviour Change Practitioners delivering interventions every day.
Jade supports them through ad-hoc and structured clinical supervision, complex case discussions, reviews risk assessments and delivers continuing professional development on subjects including trauma-informed practice, how well-intentioned interventions can unintentionally cause harm (iatrogenic harm), and the importance of language within forensic settings.
“Our practitioners manage complex caseloads with diverse needs. My role is to help them think psychologically about each case so they feel confident delivering interventions that are safe, effective and tailored to the individual.”
Challenging misconceptions about behaviour change
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding behaviour change is that people who have caused harm are incapable of change.
Another is that taking a compassionate, trauma-informed approach somehow means minimising or excusing harmful behaviour.
Jade sees it differently.
“Trauma-informed practice isn’t about excusing behaviour. It’s about understanding it well enough to challenge it effectively.”
“All of us have behaved in ways that have upset or hurt other people at some point in our lives. Most of us wouldn’t want to be defined by our worst moments. People who engage in harmful behaviour often experience significant shame, denial or minimisation. Helping them develop insight, take accountability and build a healthier sense of identity increases the likelihood that they’ll stop causing harm.”
Ultimately, supporting people to change is about preventing future victims.
“Helping someone move away from harmful behaviour is one of the most meaningful ways we can contribute to safer communities.”
Measuring success differently
Behaviour change is rarely dramatic or immediate.
Instead, success is often found in the smaller moments that indicate someone is beginning to think and respond differently.
For Jade, the “small wins” might include someone recognising an emotion before acting on it, responding openly to challenge, communicating more assertively or beginning to make realistic, prosocial plans for the future.
“Behaviour change is the long game. Those small shifts in thinking, emotional awareness and decision-making often become the building blocks for lasting change.”
Supporting practitioners is equally rewarding.
“Knowing that I may have played a small role in how they view and conduct their work, which will in turn have a ripple effect that benefits every person they go on to support, gives me a great sense of pride and accomplishment.”
An individual approach to behaviour change
While many behaviour change programmes rely on categorising offenders according to their risk level or ‘typology’ and offering them a manualised and generic group treatment programme, Interventions Alliance takes a different approach.
Every assessment, formulation and treatment plan is tailored to the individual. Our interventions continue to evolve as new evidence emerges, and we recognise that the relationship between practitioner and participant is one of the strongest predictors of successful outcomes.
By combining forensic psychology with experienced Behaviour Change Practitioners, robust assessment and evidence-informed interventions, we deliver a personalised approach that supports meaningful, sustainable behaviour change.
Because lasting change doesn’t begin with judgement – it begins with understanding.