Thinking Skills

Programme aims:

To teach problem-solving skills and apply these skills to offending behaviour, in order to help offenders stop offending.

Who is suitable?

Offenders, both men and women, who: 

• pose a medium to high risk of re-offending
• are impulsive and/or rigid thinkers 
• do not think through the consequences of their actions 
• fail to consider the effects of their behaviour on victims or others 
• are assessed as suitable in a PSR 

Who is not suitable?

• People whose offending is not linked to poor cognitive skills
• Offenders with serious mental health problems
• Offenders who cannot learn in a group setting
• Current sex offenders
• Domestic violence offenders

The programme involves:

• Four pre-programme sessions, both one-to-one and in a group
• 22 group sessions of between two and two-and-a-half hours.  These focus on skills to change behaviour such as problem solving, anti-social attitudes, tackling pressures to offend, victim awareness, moral reasoning, self-management and social interaction.  These are then applied to aspects of offending and situations in which they occur
• Seven post-programme sessions on an individual basis

The programme is a 19 session cognitive skills intervention which addresses the way offenders think and their behaviour associated with offending.  It involves offenders developing skills in setting goals and making plans to achieve thses without offending.  It encourages offenders to think through decisions, tap into and manage emotions, develop skills to resist the pro criminal or unhelpful influence of others and see a situation from different points of view.

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