Program Goals page

Broad Goals

• Reduce criminal recidivism -> we believe all of our clients are capable of identifying and managing triggers which may lead them to re-offend.
• Instil in participants the idea that they are worthwhile and highly capable of living positive stable lives free of criminal re-offence.
• Еncourage and promote non criminal behaviour by instilling a sense of self worth
• Provide our clients with the tools they need to continue to live stable law respecting lives within their communities.

Specific Goals

• Reaffirm our clients of their ability to positively deal with life stresses and stressful situations without having to resort to undesirable behaviour
• Increase participants awareness of their own patterns of troublesome behaviours and provide tools to better manage these behaviours.

Coping- Relapse Model

"This theory seeks to explain the resumption or maintenance of criminal behavior rather than its origins. The model posits that the recidivism process begins with a precipitating environmental trigger. The model further posits that whether or not an individual will initially experience an environmental trigger(s) or perceive a situation as threatening or problematic is mediated through two subsets of factors: individual influences and available response mechanisms…

Individual influences are relatively stable and include factors such as criminal history and enduring life traits (such as, temperament, emotional reactivity). These factors are indicative of an individual's propensity to react to and interpret situations in a maladaptive manner. Available response mechanisms are more dynamic in nature, albeit not as labile as environmental triggers. They are best conceptualized as slow-changing behavior patterns that may serve as treatment targets. The available response mechanism subset includes variables such as coping ability, substance abuse, criminal attitudes, criminal associates, social support, and motivation.

The successful cases also demonstrated an increased awareness regarding the positive consequences of crime (for example, make money) as the length of time in the community increased…

It is important to emphasize that while the accurate assessment of both static and dynamic factors is necessary to facilitate the safe reintegration of offenders it is not wholly sufficient. Risk assessment must also guide individualized treatment programs and risk management strategies in order to maximize its utility"

Figure 1. The Coping- Relapse Model of Criminal Recidivism

-The dynamic prediction of criminal recidivism: A Three- way prospective study. Brown, Shelly L. et al

Relapse Prevention Model

A general application of this model sees its purpose to facilitate changes in personal habits and lifestyle so as to reduce the risk of triggering stress. Here the aim is to teach the individual how to achieve a balanced lifestyle and to prevent the formation of unhealthy habit patterns.

The RP approach attempts to provide the individual with the nece3ssary skills and cognitive strategies to prevent the single occurrence of a lapse from snowballing into total relapse. Rather than looking pessimistically at an instance of relapse as a dead end, the RP approach views it as a fork in the road with one path returning to the former problem behavior, and the other continuing in the direction of positive change.