Treatment with CPA
All of our treatment groups and individual sessions are based on the “what works” literature (1) which focuses on targeting risk, need, and responsivity (RNR) issues in treatment for individuals involved in the criminal justice system.
- Risk refers to the likelihood of the client reoffending. Most often we utilize the Level Of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) as it is part of the SOA-R (Standardized Offender Assessment – Revised); however, there are many other risk assessment tools we can utilize, including the CST or SPIn assessments provided by referring programs. These risk scores help our Forensic Therapists determine what dose of treatment a client should receive.
- Need refers to the criminogenic need, or the proximal cause of the client’s criminal behavior. CPA therapists utilize a combination of assessments, clinical interview, and collateral document review to determine a client’s primary criminogenic need.
- Responsivity refers to the importance of tailoring the client’s treatment to meet their individual needs, characteristics, and significant life experiences. Our expertise allows the therapist and client to work together to develop focused treatment goals that will have the largest impact on reducing the client’s risk of recidivism.
While CPA therapists are trained to become expert in the clinical application of RNR in treatment, we also strongly believe that no single part of the criminal justice system will be effective in its mission unless there is excellent communication between treatment providers and supervising agents. We make every effort to keep referring parties informed of the client’s progress in treatment while maintaining that person’s confidentiality. We encourage professionals to contact us with questions or concerns at any time so we can best support our clients’ progress as they work towards desistance.
At CPA, we do not offer time-limited treatment or a set number of sessions, as criminal justice clients are often skilled at “doing time” when mandated and benefit from the individualized approach to helping them address their needs. Therefore, clients progress in treatment based on their engagement in the therapy process and progress on their individual treatment goals. We determine this through a combination of clinical judgment supported by actuarial assessments.
Changes in treatment are a team decision between the supervising agent, the therapist, and the client. No individual successfully completes treatment until all three parties agree that it is the most appropriate treatment decision based on that person’s history of justice involvement, overall treatment progress, and current supervision status. If there are changes in the client’s status, life circumstances, behavior and attitudes observed by the supervising agent and/or the treatment provider, this may result in revised treatment plans that address their individual responsivity issues or a change in primary criminogenic needs.
The collaborative relationship between the treatment provider and the supervising agent ensures that clients are not over-treated, under-treated, or provided treatment that is not focused on addressing criminogenic factors.
To learn more about a specific type of treatment, select from the Treatment drop down menu or select one of the buttons below.