Citation

Howells K, Day A. Int. J. Offender Ther. Comp. Criminol. 2006; 50(2): 174-186.

Affiliation

University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0306624X05281336

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Affective factors are likely to play a major role in determining the extent to which offenders are able to engage with, and benefit from, treatment. In this article, it is argued that the relationship between affect and treatment engagement may be understood in three ways: the access the client has to emotional states, the ability to express such states, and the willingness of the client to do this in the therapeutic session. It is suggested that affective determinants of treatment readiness can be understood with reference tomodels of emotional regulation and that attention to these affective factors in the early stages of treatment is likely to promote engagement, reduce attrition, and consequently improve treatment outcomes for violent offenders.