Resilience in Reentry: Cognitive-Behavioral Resilience Training for Parolees with Adjustment Challenges

This pilot study assesses the feasibility and acceptability of applying Modularized Cognitive–Behavioral Resilience Training (MCBRT) to a population of recently released parolees. The treatment will target difficulties of post-prison adjustment, particularly in relation to the long-term effects of institutionalization. Existing research has shown that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can reduce recidivism via a reduction in criminogenic thinking. This study will give a preliminary indication if MCBRT can encourage reintegration by demonstrating reliable improvements in adjustment symptoms and well-being for parolees. The pilot will provide a proof of concept for a future randomized control trial with multiple reentry facilities in the Southern California area. The target sample size for the pilot study is thirty residents of a reentry facility in Los Angeles, CA. The treatment will consist of five weekly sixty-minute sessions administered by a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. Study measures include self-report measures on perceived benefit and satisfaction with the treatment and psychological measures of adjustment disorder and well-being. We hypothesize that seventy percent of participants will have reliable improvements in adjustment disorder symptoms and well-being.