Restorative Justice and Mental Health

Posted on: 12th, February 2024

Being involved in a crime can have a negative impact on an individual’s mental health. Some people find it beneficial to talk about the incident with the person who harmed them, or who they harmed. 

For victims, Restorative Justice can reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and PTSD after a crime takes place, helping them put the crime behind them. It also offers the opportunity for offenders to apologise, explain and make amends where possible. 

One victim who participated in Restorative Justice described it as, “taking a big black cloud from over me and putting it over him.” Nick, a victim of assault, was left scared and experiencing low mood, fear, and anxiety following the incident. After talking with our trained practitioners, Nick said “being able to talk to you about this and be heard with no judgement was really therapeutic for me. I've felt better about it ever since”. 

Restorative Justice can provide relief for offenders, too. Following an incident with the police, an offender met with a responding officer to apologise for his actions. The officer was surprised at how emotional she felt, stating she was shocked at how genuinely remorseful the offender was. The officer felt that the visit had helped the offender come to terms with his behaviour and given him the opportunity to apologise and explain what he had been going through at the time of the incident. 

If your mental health has suffered following a crime and you think Restorative Justice is the right next step for you, please get in touch. 

Talk to our Restorative Justice service team in confidence

Email Us

Or call us on 0800 783 1550

Case Studies

A burglary case in West Yorkshire

John burgled Lucy’s home when she was outside hanging out her washing. When she came inside, she found him standing in her property. She describe...

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A Domestic Argument

Ann and her son, Nicky, had been enjoying an evening in together.  As the evening progressed, an argument started, which then escalated. ...

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A Non-Recent Child Sexual Abuse Case

A complaint of historical sexual abuse was reported to the police by two sisters who accused their stepfather of sexually touching them when they w...

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A Serious Assault Case

Caroline’s world was turned upside down when Simon, her partner, was punched in the face and knocked to the ground as he walked home from a night...

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A Sexual Abuse Case

The Restorative Justice service received a referral from Sarah, via her Victim Liaison Officer. The offences, which were of a sexual nature, were c...

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A Street Robbery

Daniel contacted the Restorative Justice team after he committed a street robbery on Carl. “The p...

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A Traffic Offence Case

Anne, 65, contacted the service, as she was interested in Restorative Justice. Her husband, Brian, 63, had been killed in a traffic collision 18 mo...

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Assault on a Police Officer in West Yorkshire

Coleen was a West Yorkshire Police Officer who was called to a report of sexual assault. Upon arrival at the address, there were a lot of people, m...

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Conditional Cautions and Restorative Justice

One evening in December 2023, Brad was driving along a motorway when a car indicated to join the carriageway from a slip road, causing him to swerv...

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Death By Dangerous Driving

The Restorative Justice service received an enquiry from a Victim Liaison Officer from the National Probation Service detailing that there w...

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Death by Dangerous Driving: Tara & Oliver

Tara was referred to the Restorative Justice team in West Yorkshire. Her brother, Thomas, had been killed three years previously by Oliver, who had...

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Hate Crime Awareness Course

Amiya was allocated as the Case Manager for Warren. Warren had a history of racial and religiously aggravated harassment towards a variety of peopl...

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Lydia's Story: Sexual Assault

Lydia was referred to the Restorative Justice service by her Victim Liaison Officer. She was the victim of a prolonged sexual assault at her home 1...

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Street Robbery

Ellis was a long term substance user, who was encouraged by an acquaintance – Mikel - to grab the handbag of a woman they saw in passing.  A...

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Street Robbery

Jemma was referred to Restorative Solutions by Victim Services in July 2019.  She had been the victim of a robbery.  The offender – Ale...

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Using a Restorative Approach to Address Conflict in the Home

A son was displaying an increasing level of verbal and physical abuse within the home. Mum has reached the point that she was scared that she could...

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What People Say About Restorative Justice

The restorative justice process has made me really think about the consequences of my actions.

John, offender

Restorative Justice has really helped. It has given me closure, and I feel much more positive.

Lucy, burglary victim

Now we can get on with our lives without the burden of what happened grinding us down.

Abuse victim

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