Criminal - CBT treatment for crime

What is the CBT that we study?

Anger management (we will never be directly asked this, only to discuss our learned form of CBT)

What are the three elements of anger?

- Physiological

- Behavioural

- Cognitive

What does anger management aim to do?

Change cognitive anger which will in turn change behaviour and physiological response

What is the first step of anger management treatment?

Cognitive preparation

Describe the cognitive preparation stage.

Involves contextualising the anger. Identifying the situation in which they got angry and how it made them feel etc. Where and what they were doing when they were angry, how angry they felt on a scale, how did their body feel

What is the purpose of the cognitive preparation stage?

Helps to identify situations in which people get angry (recognise patterns) and aims to challenge thought patterns e.g. recognising that people laughing at you isn't you personal but because of a behaviour that was performed. It also aims to consider the impact of your anger on others

What is the second stage of anger management?

Skill acquisition

Describe the skill acquisition stage of anger management.

Learning new coping methods and relaxation techniques. It also focuses on how people have dealt with new situations that caused anger e.g. how well did they do, what could they do next time

What is the purpose of the skill acquisition stage of anger managment?

It teaches people how to deal with issues constructively, not aggressively

What is the last stage of anger management?

Application practice

Describe the application practice stage.

Role playing a variety of scenarios to practice new skills. This is done in a controlled environment

What is the purpose of the application practice stage?

To allow people to put their skills into practice and receive feedback

Where is anger management treatment used?

- Prisons

- Young offender institutions

- For probationary periods

How is anger management treatment usually performed?

In small groups

How many sessions does anger management last?

Varies depending on the programme. Usually 10 weekly sessions on a course of treatment

What did Loza (1999) find?

Looking at 250 Canadian offenders, no significant link was found between anger and violent or not crimes (weakness)

What did Dowden (1999) find?

Looking at high risk offenders, they found the treatment was effective in reducing recidivism (strengths)

What did Ireland (2004) find?

Offenders showed significant improvements in anger related behaviour after treatment compared to a control with no treatment

What are some issues with anger management treatment?

- It only works on people who commit crimes because of anger, not crimes of another form of motivation

- Studies looking at the effectiveness of treatment are performed in closed environments (prisons) and are short term. What happens when they leave said environment in the future?

- Few studies look at long term effects of treatments

- Findings of Loza (1999)

- Studies looking at recidivism only account for crimes people have been caught for

- Criminals in prisons can act as if the treatment has worked to help shorten their sentence

- Have to be willing to engage in treatment to reap the benefits

What are some strengths of anger management treatment?

- Ireland (2004) - see other quizlet for more detail

- Dowden (1999)