Resolving the Addict-Criminal Self-Concept: A Humanistic/ Trauma-Informed Creative Arts Approach
Author: Stephanie Wise.; Emily Nash.
Source: Volume 18, Number 03, September/October 2014 , pp.33-37(5)
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Abstract:
In the situation of a therapeutic community, and in particular with members coming directly from imprisonment, self-concept is highly negative: “criminal”. . .“addict”. . .“failure.” A negative selfconcept is not something that can be shifted easily, but such a shift is, in our professional opinion, essential for any expectation or hope of charting a better future. In this article the authors highlight a three-hour session with the entire therapeutic community one winter’s day. The concluding section will return to the concept of shifting the internalized selfconcept as it relates directly to this work.Keywords: Behavioral modification; trauma-informed approach; residential therapeutic community; self-identity; arc of exploration
Affiliations:
1: Therapeutic Arts Alliance of Manhattan; 2: Marywood University.