Factors that can make growth difficult include a long-standing pattern of criminal activity, serious adverse life events, and chronic mental health illness.
Enrico Ferri, a socialist,[4] introduced his theory of positive criminality, which was based upon the elimination of antisocial conduct according to "a science of society, taking on for itself the task of the eradication of crime",[5] during three lectures in Naples, Italy in 1901.
These programs are considered a form of strength-based treatment, due to the emphasis on personal, interpersonal and social skills developed that enable participants to acquire pro-social lifestyle, which may also reduce their need for deviant behaviors.
It assumes that all individuals have similar aspirations and needs and that one of the primary responsibilities of parents, teachers, and the broader community is to help each of us acquire the tools required to make our own way in the world.
[15] Existential therapy is based on the premise that there are several factors that influence one's life, like culture and biology, and that the central problems people experience are due to isolation, anxiety, despair, and loneliness.
[18] Yoga and meditation programs have been used in correctional facilities to promote reflection, mindfulness and patience, and reduce stress[19][20] in an environment that is a breeding ground for violence and negative thinking.
[22] Formalized later as the Prison Yoga Project, it teaches asana, pranayama, and meditation practices—and how to train the mind not to be reactive[23]—which helps individuals cope from past trauma and develop more productive behavior patterns.
[22][a] Steven Belenko, a professor with Temple University's Department of Criminal Justice states that yoga and meditation instruction could be provided via DVDs, which would be a relatively low-cost solution for prisons.
Research conducted among addicts who participated in the twelve-step program and the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) self- and mutual-help groups has identified several therapeutic elements that helped addicts in the recovery process, including change in their perception of life and finding new and noble meaning to life,[26] spiritual awakening through faith in a higher power that helps them to abstain from psychoactive substances,[27] transformation of anger and resentment into forgiveness,[28] and sponsoring another person in the recovery process.
[31] Since its inception, the twelve-step program has caught the attention of professionals as a possible expert approach of therapy, first limited to addiction[32] and later extended into other fields, such as domestic violence[33] or victims' assistance,[34][35] as well.
Most participants reported that they had experienced personal and social changes during their current imprisonment, attributed to the support they received from various sources both inside and outside the jail, particularly spouses, parents, therapists, and religious figures.
In a qualitative study, Carla Barret from John Jay College, New York, attempted to understand how young male participants benefited from yoga and mindfulness training within an Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) program.
[48] Michael Hallett and colleagues presented an ethnographic account of the "self-projects" of inmate graduates of Louisiana State Penitentiary's ("Angola's") unique prison seminary program.