Prison Counseling Paper

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I believe that a major counseling idea that is important and powerful is understanding inmate’s childhood. Majority of the prison population are from low-income and dysfunctional families which may corelate with being abuse e.g., physically, emotionally, sexually, and/or neglect at a young age. Casarjian (1995) stats, “Severe emotional, physical, and sexual childhood abuse are the training ground for becoming an offender. At the root of most offender behavior is the unhealed anger, rage, grief, guilt, and shame from childhood violence” (p. 41). Understanding inmate’s upbringing and cultural customs plays a huge role in a counseling session. It helps the counselor to establish a plan for its client and comprehend what the client has been through. The idea of …show more content…

Although Casarjian (1995) provided a few exercises for inmates to contact one’s inner child, one stood out the best, which is “writing to your inner child” (p. 52). Counselors should provide inmates a journal; thus, they can express themselves in any way planting a seed in their brain to write about why they feel violent and frustrated. Inmates share their journal writings with their counselor because of the development of a professional relationship between counselor and inmate establishing trust. With journal writings, counselors have more information about the individual’s background and culture, thus allowing them to effectively and efficiently perform their jobs. Through open-minded discussions, inmates can heal their emotional and mental wounds, thus reducing their violent behavior. Casarjian (1995) states, “…after beginning to be there for their own inner child, people start being present for their own children as well” (p. 56). For example, inmates are maintaining family communication, attending parental education and family

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