This facilitator manual is version 2.4, published in November 2015, for the START NOW Skills program, and was developed as part of a relatively cost-effective manual-guided intervention for offenders with behavioral and emotional disorders.
This document is meant to serve as a general guide, and is part of a manual-guided intervention, the START NOW Skills program. This program is an integrative evidence-informed model of treatment that seeks to meet a need for lower cost Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) programs in correctional facilities. The START NOW Skills program was developed based on a version of DBT adapted for correctional settings; its purpose is to teach incarcerated individuals a range of coping skills. START NOW uses group therapy as the primary treatment approach to increase the cost-efficiency of the program, and to allow offenders to provide support and feedback to each other, along with other approaches, such as: cognitive behavior therapy (CBT); motivational interviewing (MI); cognitive-modifications of the clinical approach; DBT; and trauma-sensitive care. The manual notes gender differences among incarcerated individuals, and provides a summary of specific gender-related research findings in each of the four units; it also provides, in the introductory section, details on START NOW program design and parameters, along with a list of materials needed and certification criteria for facilitators and supervisors.