II. Matching Offenders and Services

Responsivity:

The Responsivity Principle identifies what modes and styles of services are appropriate for offenders. Everyone has their own way of learning and own level of cognitive ability. Many offenders have poor social, verbal and prob lem-solving skills, and they tend to be "criminal thinkers" who reason in concrete, black-and-white terms that support their criminal activity. Effective services recognize these deficits and are designed to be responsive to them.

This means that, in general, the most effective mode or style of services for offenders is behavioral or cognitivebehavioral, rather than psychodynamic, client-centered counseling or many other commonly-used methods. Cognitive programs attack the thinking patterns that promote and support criminal conduct by training offenders in pro-social thinking and behavioral skills. They teach offenders how to negotiate and deal with authority, ways to solve problems without resorting to violence, and how to make deliberate and conscious choices before they act. This helps offenders take responsibility for their own conduct, rather than seeing themselves as victims or as entitled to do whatever they please. Counselors who deliver cognitive programs model pro-social behavior and provide firm and consistent feedback that discourages anti-social behavior.