When a criminal offender is referred by the court system for treatment, often in the form of a combination of group and one-on-one psychotherapy and participation in a twelve-step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous, there are several things to expect. First, the probation or parole officer who is responsible for the oversight of such an offender will likely encounter a great deal of resistance from the offender in the early stages of the therapeutic process (Leong, 2004).
While they have been convicted of a crime, and are often facing other serious difficulties, offenders who are referred for treatment will often be in denial that they have issues with substance abuse or other forms of mental illness. The offender may also be resentful that they are being “forced” to attend therapy sessions and twelve-step support group meetings, and protest that they have already “served their sentence” through jail time and the probation or parole sentence which they are currently serving. It is not uncommon for such offenders to violate the conditions of their probation or parole by failing to show up for therapy sessions, or providing evidence of having attended the requisite number of twelve-step meetings.
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"Offenders and the Treatment Process".
When the initial period of resistance lapses, however, many criminal offenders who are referred for treatment show improved signs of socio-economic and interpersonal functioning, and typically demonstrate lower levels of recidivism (Van Stelle et al, 1994). It can be difficult to ascertain whether these signs of improved functioning are the result of the supposed therapeutic results of twelve-step meetings, or simply due to the fact they are introduced to a new, functional social network through these meetings is unclear; however, it is clear that they can help. Finally, another phenomenon that regularly occurs during the therapeutic process is that offenders are often diagnosed with a mental illness or personality disorder that has previously been undiagnosed (Rice & Harris, 1997). Treatment can help offenders on many levels.
