C Cognitive Self Change Programme

Programme aims:

• To reduce violent recidivism by changing offenders’ distorted thinking processes, addressing the individual risk factors and patterns of anti-social thinking

Who is suitable?

• Life sentence prisoners
• Offenders serving long determinate and extended sentences of imprisonment imposed prior to 4 th April 2005
• Offenders serving extended or indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection under CJA 2003
• are assessed as suitable for the programme in a court ordered report prior to sentence or by the offender manager prior to release on licence

Who is not suitable?

• Offenders who fall outside the above high risk criteria

What is involved?

• Six Blocks, the first five of which are delivered whilst in custody, comprising 136 to 257 group work sessions over 8 to 17 months and 26 individual sessions on average.
• Block 6 is provided structure post-release intervention delivered by the offender manager and focusing on continued updating of the offender’s relapse prevention plan together with application and monitoring of the skills learned during Blocks 1 to 5 of the programme.
• Programme delivery provides an effective risk management tool and supports the management of violent offenders in the community within the MAPPA framework.
• Treatment management for Block 6 is provided by the Block 6 Programme Manager who is based in the Offending Behaviour Programmes Unit in Prison Service Headquarters