Changing Prisons to Help People Change
It is important to consider the conditions of prison life in understanding how individuals rejoin society at the conclusion of their sentence. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach that promotes new ways of thinking and behaving for both incarcerated persons and correctional staff that will better prepare returning citizens to be valuable community members. We consider that “since criminal behavior is driven partly by certain thinking patterns that predispose individuals to commit crimes or engage in illegal activities, the widespread implementation of CBT [and immersive cognitive communities] as part of correctional programming could lead to fewer re-arrests and lower likelihood of reincarceration.” This article includes short, intermediate, and long-term policy and practice recommendations to begin implementing this model, beginning with funding to support the implementation of Cognitive Communities, re-branding prisons to focus on rehabilitation, and finally making the reduction of prison-sentencing through shorter prison terms and more reliance on community sanctions a long-term policy goal in the U.S.