NCJ Number
89061
Journal
Monatsschrift fuer Kriminologie and Strafechtsreform Volume: 65 Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1982) Pages: 334-342
Date Published
1982
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article advocates focusing on discussion of an offender's criminal act in the course of therapeutic counseling at correctional institutions.
Abstract
In addition to considering the offender's personality and his social condition in rehabilitational programming, it is recommended that the offense and circumstances under which it was committed also be used to provide a focal point upon which to hinge behavior modification efforts. The intent of such an approach is to reveal the more fundamental problems from which criminal behaviors arise and to help an offender recognize alternatives he might have taken or might use in his personal problem solving in the future. In a peer group setting, an actor's own perceptions of his behaviors are enhanced by the perceptions and experiences of others, providing new insights and possibly impetus for change. Group therapy is especially adaptable in an institutional setting, where group composition remains relatively constant and basic problems are shared by the inmate membership. The therapist should be skilled in guiding the discussion from an individual's personal experience to interpretive directions for social learning. A total of 40 footnotes and 11 references are given.