Understanding Offending Populations and the Power of Correctional Psychotherapy

This book investigates the general correctional offender population and the psychotherapy services they receive. The offender population has long been considered the most difficult to engage in psychotherapy, often described as resistant, non-compliant, unworkable, and without feeling. This unique and culturally diverse population tend to find themselves, as a result, going through a cycle of arrest, conviction, incarceration, and release. Although other offender populations, such as female offenders, severe mentally ill, and sex offenders, have received considerable attention in scholarship, there has been little research focused on the treatment of the general offender population and how to reduce recidivism through the appropriate delivery of effective assessment and treatment services. This book will bridge that gap in literature, addressing:

¿ Who the offender population is

¿ Social and systematic factors they face

¿ Psychological understandings of criminal behavior

¿ Rehabilitation and psychotherapy theories and approaches to treatment , as well as best practices

¿ Future efforts in justice initiatives, advocacy, and public policy

This book is best suited for upper-level undergraduates, graduate students and researchers, and practitioners in criminal justice fields and mental health professions working with offender populations.