"Victory is not having to deal with an enemy at all. It is the notion of no enemy. The whole world is a friend" - Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Buddhist meditation teacher
Court-Ordered Clinical Services
For 30 years I have provided a variety of clinical services to court-ordered clients. These services have included forensic evaluations and individual and group psychotherapy for offenders on misdemeanor, felony and federal probation. I have also evaluated clients referred by the Florida Department of Children & Families when there are concerns of spousal violence or violence directed toward children. While most clients who attend these programs are court ordered is not necessary to be court ordered to attend. I currently provide the following court-ordered programs:
Men's Batterers' Intervention Program: The BIP is a 29-week psycho-educational program provided in a group setting. The program is based on the "Duluth Model" as required by the state of Florida. It is a gender-based cognitive-behavioral approach to counseling and/or educating men arrested for domestic violence and mandated by the court to attend a domestic violence program. The curriculum first helps expose the behaviors associated with a constellation of abuse and violence in what is referred to as the “Power and Control Wheel.” It attempts to challenge the denial and minimization usually associated with abusive behavior. It attempts to teach and develop alternative skills to avoid abuse and violence, and promote so-called “cognitive restructuring” of attitudes and beliefs that reinforce that behavior.
Women’s Batterers' Intervention Program: The BIP is a 29-week psycho-educational program provided in a group setting. It is appropriate for women who have used violence and other types of abusive behavior toward their intimate partner. The women's BIP uses Turning Points: A Nonviolence Curriculum for Women, an educational program designed specifically for women who have used both legal and illegal violence against their partners. Its focus is on helping women understand the connections between the violence they may have experienced as a victim and the violence they use. Its overall goal is to help them end both. It is for women who are being battered now or were battered in the past and are now using violence toward their abuser or a new partner. This curriculum is based on the work of two long standing groups in northern Minnesota over a two decade period. Both groups had a very low re-arrest rate. In most years it was 5% or lower, the highest year was 8%. The approach used in this curriculum is drawn from those groups.
Anger Management: I utilize the CALM Program, “Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it". This group program is 8-12 weeks long, followed by a discharge session. It is segregated based on gender. CALM aims to change the way people think and behave. It is designed to alter distorted thinking associated with aggression and anti-social behavior and replace it with pro-social, realistic thinking (skills) . CALM focuses on:
Commitment To Change Antisocial Behavior: This 8-12 week group program, followed by a discharge session, is appropriate for non-violent offenders who have engaged in various types of anti-social, criminal behavior such as destruction of property, shoplifting, burglary and other crimes that harm victims and the community. The Commitment to Change Program was developed by Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, who with the late Dr. Samuel Yochelson, participated in the longest in-depth clinical research-treatment study of offenders that has been conducted in North America. The focus of the program lies in correcting errors in thinking that lead to anti-social, criminal behavior. The program also focuses on the negative consequences of antisocial behavior to the offender and others and emphasizes moral responsibility, defined as 1) having a positive regard for and caring about the welfare and rights of others; 2) living in harmony within the community; 3) being accountable to the laws and rules of society; and 4) changing antisocial behavior, beliefs, & lifestyle, in order to lead a responsible life. This group is not segregated based on gender.
For 30 years I have provided a variety of clinical services to court-ordered clients. These services have included forensic evaluations and individual and group psychotherapy for offenders on misdemeanor, felony and federal probation. I have also evaluated clients referred by the Florida Department of Children & Families when there are concerns of spousal violence or violence directed toward children. While most clients who attend these programs are court ordered is not necessary to be court ordered to attend. I currently provide the following court-ordered programs:
Men's Batterers' Intervention Program: The BIP is a 29-week psycho-educational program provided in a group setting. The program is based on the "Duluth Model" as required by the state of Florida. It is a gender-based cognitive-behavioral approach to counseling and/or educating men arrested for domestic violence and mandated by the court to attend a domestic violence program. The curriculum first helps expose the behaviors associated with a constellation of abuse and violence in what is referred to as the “Power and Control Wheel.” It attempts to challenge the denial and minimization usually associated with abusive behavior. It attempts to teach and develop alternative skills to avoid abuse and violence, and promote so-called “cognitive restructuring” of attitudes and beliefs that reinforce that behavior.
Women’s Batterers' Intervention Program: The BIP is a 29-week psycho-educational program provided in a group setting. It is appropriate for women who have used violence and other types of abusive behavior toward their intimate partner. The women's BIP uses Turning Points: A Nonviolence Curriculum for Women, an educational program designed specifically for women who have used both legal and illegal violence against their partners. Its focus is on helping women understand the connections between the violence they may have experienced as a victim and the violence they use. Its overall goal is to help them end both. It is for women who are being battered now or were battered in the past and are now using violence toward their abuser or a new partner. This curriculum is based on the work of two long standing groups in northern Minnesota over a two decade period. Both groups had a very low re-arrest rate. In most years it was 5% or lower, the highest year was 8%. The approach used in this curriculum is drawn from those groups.
Anger Management: I utilize the CALM Program, “Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it". This group program is 8-12 weeks long, followed by a discharge session. It is segregated based on gender. CALM aims to change the way people think and behave. It is designed to alter distorted thinking associated with aggression and anti-social behavior and replace it with pro-social, realistic thinking (skills) . CALM focuses on:
- Addressing thinking patterns
- Improving problem solving
- Improving communication skills
- Improving assertiveness
- Gaining insight into one's own behavior
- Developing relapse prevention strategies
Commitment To Change Antisocial Behavior: This 8-12 week group program, followed by a discharge session, is appropriate for non-violent offenders who have engaged in various types of anti-social, criminal behavior such as destruction of property, shoplifting, burglary and other crimes that harm victims and the community. The Commitment to Change Program was developed by Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, who with the late Dr. Samuel Yochelson, participated in the longest in-depth clinical research-treatment study of offenders that has been conducted in North America. The focus of the program lies in correcting errors in thinking that lead to anti-social, criminal behavior. The program also focuses on the negative consequences of antisocial behavior to the offender and others and emphasizes moral responsibility, defined as 1) having a positive regard for and caring about the welfare and rights of others; 2) living in harmony within the community; 3) being accountable to the laws and rules of society; and 4) changing antisocial behavior, beliefs, & lifestyle, in order to lead a responsible life. This group is not segregated based on gender.