This paper focuses on health care professionals’ beliefs concerning families in contact with forensic psychiatric care. Historically, families have been almost invisible in forensic psychiatric care. Forensic psychiatry is a complex field of care, and being healthcare professionals in this area of care seems especially challenging due to the staffs’ ambiguous tasks of providing care and improving patients’ health and quality of life, while simultaneously guarding and containing the patient. It is also of importance to provide patients’ family members opportunities to participate in care planning for their relative and to support relationships between forensic psychiatric patients and their families.

The study has a hermeneutical approach inspired by the philosophy of Gadamer. Data from group interviews with staff in four Swedish forensic psychiatric clinics were analyzed and interpreted as seven key beliefs held among staff. There were four key beliefs about families: Family belongingness is a resource for the patient; Most of the families are broken families -not possible to trust; and Families either get in the way or smooth the way for patient’s care. Three key beliefs concerned encounters with families: To be able to balance out and control the family is important; To set aside one’s own as well as the families interest is inevitable; Family oriented work is a hopeless mission; and Family oriented work starts in explicitly welcoming families.