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Creative Therapies and Programs in Corrections

NCJ Number
181373
Date Published
1996
Length
95 pages
Annotation
This booklet describes 11 effective therapies and treatment programs for offenders with various needs and problem behaviors.
Abstract
The first paper describes an educational program for male batterers at a county prison, and another program uses dramatic role playing to help men do some cognitive restructuring. A prison rehabilitation program facilitates inmates' understanding and practicing of new ways of thinking and acting that will enable them to achieve physical and spiritual freedom from a criminal lifestyle. A description of a rational cognitive therapy program includes a psychological and religious approach designed to reach formerly intractable inmates. Two authors describe inmate art programs that correlate with a reduction in institutional violence. Another paper offers suggestions for effective psychotherapy to help counselors break through clients' resistance to treatment. A successful grief counseling approach described enables men to move beyond their losses to a healthier outlook and approach to life. Since a large percentage of inmates have substance abuse problems, the booklet contains a profile of a continuum of care for substance abuse that involves a coordinated approach successfully used in Delaware. Another paper describes a pet therapy program in a correctional facility that has proven to reduce the violence level. Finally, a paper emphasizes the importance of dealing with an inmate's behavior consistently in all areas of programming and management. Chapter references