I will identify the proper drug abuse treatment for offenders and what works for drug offenders in prison. The big question and argument is should drug abusers go to treatment or prison? In this paper I will explain why drug offenders should go to treatment and not prison. The first article that I read was about identifying the proper drug abuse treatment for offenders. Criminal justice system has come a long way, from the nothing works system. Drug abuse treatment was nearly half by the 1990’s, and three fourths by 2003. Treatment for drug offenders are now far beyond the walls of prison and jail. Criminal justice generates nearly fifty percent of referrals to treatment now. The state is searching for cost effective alternatives to prison.
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Correctional mental health providers are often poor consumers of research. There are two proven techniques to the approaches of treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy and therapeutic community. Cognitive behavioral therapy impacts the person’s perception of themselves and their environment. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps recognize and adjust to their thinking errors. Therapeutic community are treatments in the prison system. The philosophy is that the substance use is not the main cause of the person’s criminal activity, but is one symptom of the whole person. This program relies on peer support within the community to give support the offender to give values that are in compliance with prosocial rather than criminal behavior. What is also called right living. This approach also establishes holding people accountable for their actions, and holding ownership for choosing to give up the old lifestyle. Cognitive behavioral therapy and therapeutic community target the criminal at a psychological and social level. These approaches are expected to affect offenders impact and their substance abuse. There is also two things that can mess these approaches up. When it comes to treatment something is better than nothing. These are called paper programs. They allow offenders to get a completion certificate pretty much without engaging in any behavioral change. They also encourage offenders that they can beat the system. Bad programs may leave these offenders worse than they were before. The second thing that can mess this approach up is hope that treatment will replace the need for criminal justice for drug use. It is seldom that offenders seek treatment because they are sick. Offenders seek treatment out of punishment to their crime. To get the easy road they will seek treatment and once the sanction is lifted their true colors will show. More less they will go back to their life of
Correctional mental health providers are often poor consumers of research. There are two proven techniques to the approaches of treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy and therapeutic community. Cognitive behavioral therapy impacts the person’s perception of themselves and their environment. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps recognize and adjust to their thinking errors. Therapeutic community are treatments in the prison system. The philosophy is that the substance use is not the main cause of the person’s criminal activity, but is one symptom of the whole person. This program relies on peer support within the community to give support the offender to give values that are in compliance with prosocial rather than criminal behavior. What is also called right living. This approach also establishes holding people accountable for their actions, and holding ownership for choosing to give up the old lifestyle. Cognitive behavioral therapy and therapeutic community target the criminal at a psychological and social level. These approaches are expected to affect offenders impact and their substance abuse. There is also two things that can mess these approaches up. When it comes to treatment something is better than nothing. These are called paper programs. They allow offenders to get a completion certificate pretty much without engaging in any behavioral change. They also encourage offenders that they can beat the system. Bad programs may leave these offenders worse than they were before. The second thing that can mess this approach up is hope that treatment will replace the need for criminal justice for drug use. It is seldom that offenders seek treatment because they are sick. Offenders seek treatment out of punishment to their crime. To get the easy road they will seek treatment and once the sanction is lifted their true colors will show. More less they will go back to their life of