This paper describes the procedure and results of a new kind of behavior change or rehabilitation program. The methods used here may have applications to a wide range of settings in the field of rehabilitation or behavior change.The program aims to produce such changes in prisoners' ways of thinking and living as will enable them to stay out of prison once they are released. It is well known that our contemporary prison systems do not perform this function (usually called "reforming" the criminal). Fifty to seventy percent of offenders paroled or released return within a 5-year period, with a nationwide average of 67% (Mattick, 1960).Many attempts have been made to develop treatment programs which would better serve the purpose of "reform" or "rehabilitation."Our program may be summarized as follows:(1) It is a collaborative group program; we avoid as much as possible the traditional doctor-patient, researchersubject, or professional-client roles.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.