DOS_patos
Unverified Legion of Trill member
The day's group therapy session for the young detainees at the county jail started with their behavioral health specialist testing them with a hypothetical scenario: They’ve cheated on a girlfriend and the other woman is pregnant.
The participants – all facing serious charges and picked for the jail's intensive therapy program because they're deemed a high risk of getting caught in Chicago’s intractable gun violence once they leave custody – bristled at a push for honest talk.
“Am I ready to take this journey?” asked Timothy Moore, the counselor, who told the detainees the question was as relevant to addressing their lives on Chicago’s streets as it was to navigating their relationships. “Am I ready to listen? Am I ready to be honest? That’s what counts. That’s the first step.”
And the Cook County Sheriff’s Office initiative dubbed S.A.V.E. – an anti-violence program built around trying to change how incarcerated men from some of Chicago's most volatile neighborhoods think – was off and running.
Programs like S.A.V.E. (the Sheriff's Anti-Violence Effort) that use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a psychological treatment that focuses on helping young men recognize their instinctual responses and slow down their thinking in high-stake situations, have gained popularity in several cities around the U.S. in recent years.
The sheriff's office, which runs one of the nation’s biggest jails, is betting that the therapy can help some of Chicago's incarcerated population get a better handle on their impulses – and in the process, reduce the city’s persistent gun violence.
Many participants will likely find themselves jailed again: 43 percent of Illinois offenders are charged within three years of being released from incarceration, according to the state's sentencing policy advisory council.
But sheriff's officials say if they can help the young men – who come from one of Chicago's 15 most-violent ZIP codes – even slightly shift their decision-making capabilities, the impact for the individuals and their communities will be significant. Participants attend therapy and life skills classes five days a week.
Tom Dart, the Cook County sheriff, said he told his staff that the program's objective is met if a participant after his release “didn’t shoot anybody and wasn’t shot by anybody.”
“Those were my two bars for success,” Dart said.
the rest at:
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/...ail-intensive-therapy-gun-violence/849127002/
The participants – all facing serious charges and picked for the jail's intensive therapy program because they're deemed a high risk of getting caught in Chicago’s intractable gun violence once they leave custody – bristled at a push for honest talk.
“Am I ready to take this journey?” asked Timothy Moore, the counselor, who told the detainees the question was as relevant to addressing their lives on Chicago’s streets as it was to navigating their relationships. “Am I ready to listen? Am I ready to be honest? That’s what counts. That’s the first step.”
And the Cook County Sheriff’s Office initiative dubbed S.A.V.E. – an anti-violence program built around trying to change how incarcerated men from some of Chicago's most volatile neighborhoods think – was off and running.
Programs like S.A.V.E. (the Sheriff's Anti-Violence Effort) that use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a psychological treatment that focuses on helping young men recognize their instinctual responses and slow down their thinking in high-stake situations, have gained popularity in several cities around the U.S. in recent years.
The sheriff's office, which runs one of the nation’s biggest jails, is betting that the therapy can help some of Chicago's incarcerated population get a better handle on their impulses – and in the process, reduce the city’s persistent gun violence.
Many participants will likely find themselves jailed again: 43 percent of Illinois offenders are charged within three years of being released from incarceration, according to the state's sentencing policy advisory council.
But sheriff's officials say if they can help the young men – who come from one of Chicago's 15 most-violent ZIP codes – even slightly shift their decision-making capabilities, the impact for the individuals and their communities will be significant. Participants attend therapy and life skills classes five days a week.
Tom Dart, the Cook County sheriff, said he told his staff that the program's objective is met if a participant after his release “didn’t shoot anybody and wasn’t shot by anybody.”
“Those were my two bars for success,” Dart said.
the rest at:
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/...ail-intensive-therapy-gun-violence/849127002/
