Rational cognitive therapy with public offenders

In addressing the issue of how offenders may help themselves face the world in prison and outside, this article outlines how the principles of rational emotive therapy as outlined by Ellis and Maultsby can be simplified for use with this population in order to provide them a method for understanding and alleviating unhelpful emotional reactions. An example is provided to illustrate how a rational self-analysis model can be taught as written homework in individual or group sessions. Using the RSA model, offenders are taught to review and better understand the meanings of irrational words and how they upset themselves. Overall, our experience has been that offenders of many persuasions can be taught to be more rational and logical—an essential foundation for successful rehabilitation. This article is reproduced with permission in a slightly modified form from an earlier article authored by Smith and Lombardo “Rational Cognitive Therapy: An Executive Summary” that appeared inThe Correctional Psychologist, 27, 1995, pp. 2–5.