Within certain kinds of clinical contexts, we often take a stance towards patients who do wrong or behave in problematic ways that involves holding them responsible and accountable for their behavior, but not blaming them, in order to facilitate learning and change. This idea of Responsibility without Blame cuts against our ordinary understanding of the connection between blame and responsibility, and can initially seem conceptually incoherent and impossible to achieve in practice. But as clinical contexts show, it is a viable alternative. You can find links to some articles and public engagement about this work below, as well as a series of papers co-authored with Professor Nicola Lacey that aims to explore the value of a responsibility without blame framework for criminal justice theory and practice. I've also created an open access e-learning designed to be interactive, accessible, and available to anyone interested in learning more about responsibility without blame and developing their ability to work and relate effectively with people with personality disorder and complex needs.
RESPONSIBILITY WITHOUT BLAME E-LEARNING
General articles:
Responsibility without blame: philosophical reflections on clinical practice Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychiatry: 1134-1152 (2013)
Responsibility without blame: empathy and the effective treatment of personality disorder Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology 18: 209-224 (2011)
Articles connecting the framework to criminal justice practice:
Rethinking justice: the clinical model of responsibility without blame The Howard League for Penal Reform ECAN Bulletin (2018)
Responsibility without blame: therapy, philosophy, law Prison Service Journal 213: 10-16 (2014)
Articles connecting the framework to criminal justice theory, co-authored with Nicola Lacey:
From the consulting room to the court room: taking the clinical model of responsibility without blame into the legal realm Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 33: 1-29 (2013)
The chimera of proportionality: institutionalising limits on punishment in contemporary social and political systems Modern Law Review 78: 216-240 (2015) [Or available here through EuropePMC]
To blame or to forgive? Reconciling punishment and forgiveness in criminal justice Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 35(4): 665-696 (2015)
A dual-process approach to criminal law: victims and the clinical model of responsibility without blame The Journal of Political Philosophy 27(2): 229-251 (2019)
Why standing to blame may be lost but authority to hold accountable retained: criminal law as a regulative public institution The Monist 104: 265-280 (2021)
Articles relating the framework to addiction:
Responsibility without blame for addiction Neuroethics 10(1): 169-180 (2017)
Psychopathology and the ability to do otherwise Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 90(1): 135-163 (2015)
Some relevant interviews & podcasts:
A new way to blame - ABC The Philosopher's Zone (with a companion article)
Responsibility and personality disorder - Philosophy Bites
Responsibility without blame for addiction - Johns Hopkins Biomedical Odyssey Blog
RESPONSIBILITY WITHOUT BLAME E-LEARNING
General articles:
Responsibility without blame: philosophical reflections on clinical practice Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychiatry: 1134-1152 (2013)
Responsibility without blame: empathy and the effective treatment of personality disorder Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology 18: 209-224 (2011)
Articles connecting the framework to criminal justice practice:
Rethinking justice: the clinical model of responsibility without blame The Howard League for Penal Reform ECAN Bulletin (2018)
Responsibility without blame: therapy, philosophy, law Prison Service Journal 213: 10-16 (2014)
Articles connecting the framework to criminal justice theory, co-authored with Nicola Lacey:
From the consulting room to the court room: taking the clinical model of responsibility without blame into the legal realm Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 33: 1-29 (2013)
The chimera of proportionality: institutionalising limits on punishment in contemporary social and political systems Modern Law Review 78: 216-240 (2015) [Or available here through EuropePMC]
To blame or to forgive? Reconciling punishment and forgiveness in criminal justice Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 35(4): 665-696 (2015)
A dual-process approach to criminal law: victims and the clinical model of responsibility without blame The Journal of Political Philosophy 27(2): 229-251 (2019)
Why standing to blame may be lost but authority to hold accountable retained: criminal law as a regulative public institution The Monist 104: 265-280 (2021)
Articles relating the framework to addiction:
Responsibility without blame for addiction Neuroethics 10(1): 169-180 (2017)
Psychopathology and the ability to do otherwise Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 90(1): 135-163 (2015)
Some relevant interviews & podcasts:
A new way to blame - ABC The Philosopher's Zone (with a companion article)
Responsibility and personality disorder - Philosophy Bites
Responsibility without blame for addiction - Johns Hopkins Biomedical Odyssey Blog