The Good Thinking! course — developing a group-based treatment for people with learning disabilities who are at risk of offending

Authors:
GOODMAN Wendy, et al
Journal article citation:
Journal of Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 2(3), 2011, pp.114-121.
Publisher:
Emerald

Offender treatment programmes are often inaccessible to those with learning disabilities, which may mean those convicted of offences may receive no offender treatment. This paper describes the development of the “Good Thinking!” course, a group-based offender treatment programme designed to help address this need. It aims to inform and encourage clinicians and commissioners working in this field to increase the availability of specialist community-based treatments for offenders who have learning disabilities. The course comprises 23 two-hour sessions run once a week in a community setting. Based on the premise that people who commit offences are often trying to meet ordinary life goals through anti-social means, it aims to help participants identify and understand their goals, develop the social skills necessary, and teaches a problem-solving strategy for more complex problems. A description of the course and a case study are provided. However, to date, insufficient data have been produced to enable a formal evaluation of the effectiveness of the course.

Subject terms:
learning disabilities, mentally disordered offenders, treatment, therapy and treatment, group therapy;
Content type:
practice example
Location(s):
England, Wales
Link:
Journal home page
ISSN online:
2042-8693
ISSN print:
2042-0927

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