Healthcare Professionals’ Perspectives on Provisional Placement in a Forensic Psychiatric Ward in Taiwan: An Exploratory Multiple-Methods Study

Introduced in 2022, Taiwan's provisional placement system permits court-ordered admission during ongoing criminal proceedings for defendants suspected of impaired criminal responsibility. Although the measure is intended to address treatment and public-safety concerns while preserving defendants’ procedural rights, little empirical evidence has examined its implementation in forensic psychiatric practice. This exploratory multiple-methods study analyzed 55 unique defendants identified from 183 criminal rulings issued between 2022 and 2025 and conducted semi-structured interviews with five multidisciplinary forensic mental health professionals. Judicial records indicated frequent serious-violence allegations and a diagnostic profile dominated by schizophrenia spectrum and neurodevelopmental disorders. Reflexive thematic analysis generated three linked themes: institutional positioning and authority ambiguity, procedural justice under restricted liberty, and clinical planning under uncertain legal trajectories. Integrated interpretation suggested that the offense and diagnostic profiles contextualized professionals’ experiences of provisional placement as treatment, risk containment, and legal waiting. Findings directly support clearer rights communication and procedures for identifying trial-participation concerns. Other possibilities, including an authority map and structured inter-agency transition planning, are presented as literature-informed service-development strategies that require further evaluation. These findings provide preliminary evidence for refining provisional placement services in Taiwan.