The Power of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in America’s Drug Courts

Abstract

»In the 1980’s, 1/3 of the people in state prisons were there because of drug offenses and 60 to 70 percent of all the inmates had a history of substance abuse. •Many of the crimes committed on our streets today have their roots in alcohol and drug addictions. •Incarceration alone does little to break the cycle of drugs and crime: arrest=prosecution=conviction=incarceration=release=a few passing days and the cycle begins again •Treatment providers and criminal justice practitioners shared common goals: stopping the illicit use and abuse of all addictive substances and curtailing related criminal activity. •This special population needed a special court system and a new method of treatment; the Drug Treatment Court was born: arrest=Drug Court=admit problem=learn to live substance free=resolve other life issues=no crime