Improving Probation Supervision Through CBT Training

• In Event: Smart Supervision

Abstract

A recent advance in the field of probation has been the development of programs that train probation officers (POs) to use CBT skills in their supervision sessions with their clients. The present study examined changes in POs sessions with their clients following the officer’s participation in one such training program, known as Forensic CBT (FCBT), developed through a Bureau of Justice Assistance SMART Probation grant. In the FCBT program, POs are trained to be active/directive and to structure the content of supervision sessions to address criminal risk areas identified in the empirical literature, rather than focusing on traditional probation conditions. Core FCBT techniques include brief CBT sequences targeting criminal behavior patterns, assessing and restructuring criminal thinking patterns, and behavioral homework assignments identifying prosocial values. Thirty-four POs participated in the first two rounds of FCBT training, which involved 18 half-day sessions spread across 9-months. Training sessions were led by two clinical psychologists and a former PO familiar with the skills being presented. Before starting the program, POs submitted a set of recordings of their sessions with clients. After completion of the program, POs submitted a new set of recordings. Coders blind to the pre/post-program nature of the recordings rated them on a series of variables across three domains: (1) Relational Style, (e.g., empathy, collaboration, constructive use of their authority), (2) Use of CBT and Communication Skills (e.g., use of CBT sequences, eliciting client change talk), and (3) Session Content (e.g., focus on probation conditions versus criminal risk areas). Results indicated significant pre/post-program changes across the three domains. Post program recordings displayed: (1) greater empathy and collaboration, (2) increased use of CBT skills and evocation of client change talk, (3) increased focus on criminal risk areas and reduced focus on probation conditions and extraneous topics. Preliminary results also show significant reductions in client arrest rates following officers receiving FCBT training. This project suggests that training CBT skills is feasible and associated with increases in POs skills during supervision contacts and corresponding reductions in recidivism.

Authors

• Bethany LaPierre, Court Support Services Division

• Raymond Chip Tafrate, Central Connecticut State University

• Damon Mitchell, Central Connecticut State University

• Stephen Cox, Central Connecticut State University

• Tom Hogan, Central Connecticut State University