| Repeated research studies have revealed that | | | | whose length of therapy or choice of therapist |
| secular efforts at rehabilitation have been | | | | was limited by insurance or managed care did |
| unsuccessful in preventing recidivism. Not one of | | | | worse. |
| the various approaches to psychological counseling | | | | So the question remains: Why have |
| has been able to demonstrate success statistically | | | | psychotherapeutic efforts been unsuccessful in |
| in helping inmates rehabilitate. Among nearly | | | | reducing recidivism rates within the prison |
| 300,000 prisoners released in 15 states in 1994, | | | | population? It is more than likely possible that the |
| 67.5% were re-arrested within 3-years. A study | | | | "psychotherapy" previously mentioned has not |
| of 1983 releases estimated 62.5% (Langan and | | | | been made accessible or affordable to the prison |
| Levin, Bureau of Justice Statistics, June 2002). | | | | population. It is also probable that this type of |
| Historically, this has been true according to the | | | | psychotherapy is not meeting this populations |
| publication of The Effectiveness of Correctional | | | | social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs. |
| Treatment (Lipton, Martinson, & Wilks,1975), | | | | The study of religion in criminology on the other |
| which highlighted the controversy as to whether | | | | hand is now receiving national and scholarly |
| correctional treatment reduces recidivism. This | | | | attention. Evans, (et al. 1995), found that |
| review examined a variety of treatments (e.g., | | | | participation in religious activities was a persistent |
| individual and group psychotherapy and counseling, | | | | and non-contingent inhibitor of adult crime. |
| intensive casework, and skill development) and | | | | President George W. Bush in his 2004 State of |
| reported the results on a number of different | | | | the Union Address, proposed a four-year, $300 |
| outcome criteria (e.g., adjustment to prison life, | | | | million initiative to reduce recidivism and the |
| vocational success, recidivism rate). The | | | | societal costs of re-incarceration by harnessing |
| relationship between any single treatment or | | | | the resources and experience of faith-based and |
| combination of programs and recidivism rate was | | | | community organizations. In 2003, President Bush |
| far from being convincing. In a review of the | | | | created the nation's first White House Office of |
| Lipton study, Martinson concluded that "with few | | | | Faith-based and Community initiatives designed to |
| isolated exceptions, the rehabilitative efforts that | | | | send as much as $10 billion a year to these |
| have been reported so far have had no | | | | institutions to perform social services. |
| appreciable effect on recidivism." | | | | Chuck Colson, who was White House counsel |
| Psychotherapy has proven to be effective with | | | | under President Nixon and spent seven months in |
| most populations. Consumer Reports (Seligman, | | | | prison for his part in the Watergate affair, |
| 1995) published an article that concluded patients | | | | launched the Inner Change Freedom Initiative in |
| who benefited very substantially from | | | | 1997 at a Texas prison, with close enthusiastic |
| psychotherapy, that long-term treatment did | | | | support from President Bush, then the state's |
| considerably better than short-term treatment, | | | | governor. The program is now offered at prisons |
| and that psychotherapy alone did not differ in | | | | in Kansas, Minnesota and Iowa, and has also |
| effectiveness from medication plus | | | | expanded into federal penitentiaries. A two-year |
| psychotherapy. Furthermore, no specific modality | | | | study, conducted by the University of |
| of psychotherapy did better than any other for | | | | Pennsylvania (peer-reviewed at Harvard and |
| any disorder psychologists, psychiatrists, and social | | | | Princeton) between 2000 and 2002, showed that |
| workers did not differ in their effectiveness as | | | | Inner Change graduates, when compared with a |
| therapists and all did better than marriage | | | | similar group of released inmates - controlled for |
| counselors and long-term family doctoring. Patients | | | | race, age and offense type |