Facilitation Skills for Cognitive Behavioral Programs in Corrections

Perhaps no other intervention has attracted more attention across the criminal justice system than cognitive

behavioral therapy (CBT). First widely used in the latter half of the 20th century, as large numbers of people

with mental illness were deinstitutionalized and treated in community settings, CBT has since found its way

into nearly every aspect of the justice system, often supplementing, or displacing other programs and

interventions. CBT assumes that most people can become conscious of their own thoughts and behaviors

and then make positive changes to them. A person's thoughts are often the result of experience, and behavior

is often influenced and prompted by these thoughts. In addition, thoughts may sometimes become distorted

and fail to reflect reality accurately. Practitioners today use CBT to reduce recidivism among adults and

juveniles, help victims deal with the aftermath of crimes, and address substance abuse, depression, violence,

and other problematic behavior. CBT programs help individuals in corrections improve their social skills,

means-ends problem solving, critical reasoning, moral reasoning, cognitive style, self-control, impulse

management, and self-efficacy. Effective facilitators are crucial to assisting to make these improvements

and reductions. The ideal skills for group facilitators include empathy, knowledge of facilitation/teaching

techniques, understanding group processes and interpersonal interactions, the ability to control a group of

justice-involved adults and at-risk youth, and the ability to challenge individuals through non-coercive

means. Almost without exception, studies of cognitive behavioral programs point to proper training as a key

factor in achieving desired program outcomes. Training is the starting point for successful facilitators.