More groups, more locations
“We’ve expanded our Outpatient Treatment Services to meet the needs of the communities,” says Ann Webb, KPEP’s Director of Treatment Services. “We’ve added groups and new locations in every county.”
Webb is referring to the growth in Outpatient Services for both Substance Abuse and Sex Offender Treatment programs. Currently, 33 groups meet to provide treatment in Substance Abuse in eight different locations. With 20 specially trained therapists on staff full-time, an additional 31 groups offer treatment for Sex Offenders, Domestic Violence and Anger Management, as well as other Outpatient Services.
“Our niche in the field of substance abuse and sex offender treatment is the expertise of our clinicians in also addressing the criminal thinking aspect, a factor that contributes greatly to the illegal behavior.” explains Webb. “KPEP therapists are able to engage clients while still holding their own with criminal thinking because of their specific type of training. Our clinicians are a very tight-knit group that shares their experiences and ideas for working with criminal thinkers, so we are all constantly learning from each other.”
Webb also notes that, “accountability and personal responsibility are at the core of KPEP treatment techniques and strategies, which is empowering to clients because they know they are in charge of their change, and consequently their fate.”
All therapists use the Motivational Interviewing/Stages of Change treatment philosophy as a key client-centered strategy. Motivational Interviewing is a “form of collaborative conversation for strengthening a person’s own motivation and commitment to change.” The idea is to have offenders identify their own goals and then work on the steps required to meet the goal. It does not force offenders to change but meets them at their own level.
Treatment is seen as a team approach where the therapists work closely with parole agents to keep them informed of treatment plans and results. “We have great working relationships and collaboration with the agents in all communities.” For the treatment team, the goal is always to reduce recidivism by getting offenders to change their thinking and behaviors.
Individual counseling sessions are part of the treatment, but group sessions are the “treatment of choice.” According to Webb, “Research supports that group is the most effective treatment method. The group has a lot of credibility and ‘expertise’ to share, and group members can identify and relate with each others’ experiences.”
Webb notes that future growth in Outpatient Treatment Services will likely be in the Anger Management and Domestic Violence groups, as these are identified needs in the communities that KPEP serves. “We view the community as our customer. Our first priority is community safety, which can be accomplished by changing criminal thinking and behavior and reducing recidivism.”