ORIGINAL ARTICLE Are guilt and shame in male forensic patients associated with treatment motivation and readiness? Jeannette Fuller 1 | James Tapp 2,3 | Simon Draycott 1 1 School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK 2 Centralised Groupwork Service, Broadmoor Hospital, Crowthorne, UK 3 Psychology Department, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, UK Correspondence Jeannette Fuller, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK. Email: jeannettefuller@outlook.com Abstract Background: Motivation and readiness to change are important drives for forensic patients accessing interven- tions. It is thought that guilt and shame influence these drives, but to date, their relationship has not been empiri- cally tested. Aims and Hypotheses: The aim of this study is to investi- gate associations between guilt, shame, and treatment moti- vation and readiness in a sample of men in a secure hospital. It was hypothesised that guilt would be positively corre- lated, and shame negatively correlated, with treatment motivation and readiness. Methods: Sixty‐six adult male patients detained in a secure hospital completed the assessments of experiences of guilt, shame, motivation, and readiness for treatment. Clinician‐rated readiness ratings were also collected. Results: Shame proneness showed no significant associa- tion with motivation for change or treatment readiness. Guilt proneness and offence‐related shame were positively correlated with treatment readiness. Offence‐related guilt was positively correlated with both motivation and readi- ness. Regression modelling indicated offence‐related guilt had a significant level of explanatory power. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: This first study of the impact of guilt and shame on motivation and readiness for change among offender hospital inpatients found that offence‐related guilt may be helpful but did not replicate the potential disadvantage of shame. Further research would Received: 22 November 2017 Revised: 18 May 2018 Accepted: 4 December 2018 DOI: 10.1002/cbm.2105 Crim Behav Ment Health. 2019;1–11. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cbm 1