Pre-Release Education

This National Illicit Drug Strategy of the Australian Government funds
the Pre Release Assessment to Treatment Program.

The 24-session program called promoted as The Drug Offender Intervention
and Treatment Program (DO-IT) has been developed to encourage
self-improvement and change with respect to alcohol and other drug use
and criminal conduct, by inmates of Queensland correctional
institutions. The program targets inmates who have an alcohol and drug
history and expect release from custody within the next six months.

The program is cognitive behavioural therapy based and aims to challenge
negative thinking and behaviours with alcohol and drug use, educate
participants about associated harm, and promote consideration of and
preparation for further treatment upon release from custody.

Pre-Release Prison Program Alcohol and Drugs

Introduction

Some inmates in Queensland Correctional Centres have access to Alcohol and Drug Programs and/or Relapse Prevention Programs during their sentences. The information gained from these core prison programs has assisted some inmates in dealing with their drug usage habits. However, for others there is a need to go beyond this knowledge acquisition, and to work on the emotional and behavioural aspects of their attitude to drug use.

The aim of this prison based program is to try to develop an effective therapeutic relationship between the program staff and the participants and for the participants to obtain a better understanding of the personal and other factors contributing to their past reliance on drugs and hopefully to develop a commitment to appropriate treatment programs after discharge.

The prison based program aims to help the participants recognise some of the factors which have led to their ongoing dependence upon drugs and to see the relevance of various treatment strategies to achieving their treatment goals. It encourages the development of self-awareness, and the setting of personal treatment and life goals. The major desired outcome is to motivate the person to make an appropriate choice among the treatment options and to develop a sense of responsibility for their own behaviour upon release from the correctional centre.

The Pre-Release Orientation to Treatment and Motivation Program is a three week course requiring 18 hours group work for prisoners each week plus a similar number of hours for individual "homework" assignments.

Overall Aim

The program aims to enable prisoners whose custodial sentence is nearing completion to determine, and commit to, an appropriate treatment program for their recovery which is consistent with their needs and their life circumstances. The program will also provide community based outpatient counselling to those inmates who upon release choose not to attend a residential treatment program, but who recognise that they need further assistance.

Objectives

• To develop among persons who have served a custodial sentence an increased motivation to avoid harmful use of psychotropic drugs.
• To assist participants to have a deeper appreciation of the relevance of components of counselling and other treatment programs i.e. to become more aware of the relevance of issues relating to their emotional state, their interpersonal relationships, their work and leisure activities, environmental situations and testing of personal control with resulting relapse to drug use.
• To develop personal commitment to taking responsibility for their thinking, feeling and behaviour and to facilitate the participant's development of personal treatment goals, and to commit to a treatment plan upon release from prison.

This program is aimed at what the inmate will do about drug use when he or she returns to the community. The outpatient counselling aspect of this program will bridge the gap between the prison based program, residential treatment and living in the community.

Program Content and Location

The program will be provided at various custodial settings in the areas surrounding Brisbane. It is hoped that prisoners will be referred by Alcohol and other Drug counsellors in these centres based on criteria which include their drug using history, medical and psychological records, cognitive ability, and proximity to release.

Each program will continue for three weeks, with sessions from Monday to Thursday comprising 18 hours per week of group activities. A further 18 hours per week will be taken up with self-paced "homework" exercises and assignments without direct supervision.

The program will include:-

Self-awareness groups and activities designed to develop an individual's awareness of his/her learning style, temperament, attitudes to others, psychological coping skills, and other personal strengths and weaknesses.

Face to face counselling will be provided to help participants deal with personal issues that might hinder treatment, to develop agreed treatment and life goals, and to identify support networks.

Educational sessions and assignments to enable participants to understand the bio-psycho-social factors of drug dependence, and the options available to them for overcoming their dependence.

Funding

The program has been funded for four years by the National Illicit Drugs Strategy to a level that enables two clinical staff to be employed for four days a week. The expectation is that 150 prisoners will participate in the program in the first twelve months

For more information contact: