International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
June 2, 2026
Herina Koko Ayot
High rates of recidivism persist among incarcerated men, particularly those with extensive trauma histories, while many rehabilitation programs remain primarily cognitively focused. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on experiential psychotherapies, including mindfulness-based interventions, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), yoga, meditation, and creative arts therapies...
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
June 28, 2025
Francesca Danioni, Francesca Giorgia Paleari, Daniel Lumera et al.
The benefits of mindfulness for general and at-risk populations have been documented. The aim of the present study was to consider how mindfulness affects prison inmates' wellbeing and relational competence and to investigate whether this relation varied as a function of their perceptions of the severity of the crime committed and the length of their punishment. Forty nine prison inmates (Mean...
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
November 1, 2017
Carla J Barrett
This study used participant/observation and open-ended interviews to understand how male participants (age 18-24 years) benefited from yoga and mindfulness training within an Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) program. Findings suggest that the male participants (age 18-24 years) benefited from the intervention through reductions in stress and improvements in emotion regulation. Several...
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
August 28, 2015
Katherine M. Auty, Aiden Cope, Alison Liebling
194 citations
This article presents results from a systematic review and two meta-analyses that examine whether prison yoga and meditation programs are significantly related to increased psychological well-being and improvements in the behavioural functioning of prisoners. Comprehensive searches of the empirical literature were conducted up to December 2014. Participants who completed yoga or meditation...
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
February 1, 2013
Natti Ronel, Noa Frid, Uri Timor
Positive criminology is a new term for a perspective associated with theories and models that relate to socially inclusive, positively experienced influences that assist individuals in desisting or refraining from criminal and deviant behavior. A qualitative phenomenological study of prisoners who were in recovery from substance dependency and who participated in a Vipassana course in a...
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
June 1, 2011
Samuel Himelstein
There is research that serves as evidence in favor of meditation-based programs as rehabilitative for incarcerated populations. This article reviews empirical research regarding the effects of meditation-based programs in correctional populations. Three meditation-based interventions have been shown to represent the majority of empirical research and are reviewed in this article: Transcendental...