Mindfulness Meditation as an Adjunct Approach to Treatment Within the Correctional System

Cognitive-behavioral therapy and relapse prevention represent the correctional gold standard in treatment, while the principles of risk, need, and responsivity are widely recognized as essential for reducing recidivism. Addressing responsivity has become difficult as the number of inmates with mental health diagnoses continues to rise, complicating treatment programming and highlighting the need for adjunct, complimentary therapies. Mindfulness has been shown to be effective across a number of clinical populations found within correctional settings. Furthermore, it has been shown to be effective for working with difficulties identified as dynamic, criminogenic needs; for example, self-regulation. The present article reviews mindfulness research with the goal of demonstrating the utility of this adjunct approach to working with individuals residing within the correctional system.