NCJ Number
189656
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 63 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2001 Pages: 116-119
Date Published
July 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
After profiling Vermont's Cognitive Self-Change (CSC) program, this article reports on its outcomes.
Abstract
CSC was originally based on techniques proposed by psychiatrist Samuel Yochelson and psychologist Stanton Samenow. It evolved to include established methods of cognitive restructuring broadly similar to the methods of psychologist Albert Ellis and psychiatrist Aaron Beck. The premise of the program is that all people have acquired thinking and feeling habits, including underlying attitudes and beliefs, that direct and control their behaviors. The CSC proceeds through a series of steps. Each marks a progression toward self-awareness and self-responsibility. In step one, offenders learn to be objective observers of their internal thoughts and feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. In step two, offenders learn to recognize how their thinking generates their criminal behaviors. In step three, offenders practice new thinking that leads them away from crime and violence. They are not told what to think; rather, they are challenged to find their own new ways of thinking. In Vermont, CSC is presented to offenders in a structured group format, lasting from 6 months to 2 years, depending on the offenders' sentence lengths. In addition, all members participate in 1 year of community aftercare through field services units. The CSC Program is delivered to violent offenders. Because the program focuses on the thinking patterns of each individual, the program adapts to a variety of offenders. One of the distinguishing features of the CSC program as practiced in Vermont is its inclusion of line staff in intervention delivery. There has been a 20-percent reduction in recidivism for men who participated in the program, compared with a matched sample of inmates who did not participate. 5 notes and 4 references