System Specifics in Offender Therapy

TLDR: In this article, the authors use a system-specific approach to prevent recidivism in juvenile delinquents and adult offenders by isolating the dysfunctional system precursor, block its system forming potential and then proceed to modify it to functional form.

Abstract: SYSTEM specifics arose out of our long experience with psychotherapy, with general systems theory and with the treatment of juvenile delinquents and adult offenders. When clients are referred to us to determine whether they are likely to commit more offenses, we have to find some way to &dquo;cap&dquo; acting out tendencies. We must try to do this wherever possible without resorting to some form of external structure, or to intensive therapy which often takes too long to carry out, in which time further delinquencies may be committed. There are, of course, some simple cases that respond to relationship and to the emphatic setting of probation rules, such as the settling of some difficulty between husband and wife or between family and child. But in the Court Clinic, we tend to get the difficult cases; those who in the past have not responded to more usual forms of therapy or probation supervision. We have found that by the use of the systems specifics approach, it has been possible to &dquo;vaccinate&dquo; offenders so that recidivism does not occur, thus allowing for crime free time during which necessary supportive and psychotherapeutic work can be accomplished. Controlled regulation becomes quite rapidly autonomous and normal pathways of development open up, furthering autonomy. In system terms we isolate the dysfunctional system precursor, block its system forming potential and then proceed to modify it to functional form. Our initial assumption was that in addition to general