Empowering Offenders to Rehabilitate: Transcendental Meditation, Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Criminal Justice System
Michael S. King
Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute November 1, 2016 DOI: 10.66743/vqiv1140 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that the Transcendental Meditation technique can be used alongside therapeutic jurisprudence-based programs to promote offender rehabilitation, citing research suggesting the technique reduces recidivism and promotes psychological growth, and illustrating this with a project in Geraldton, Western Australia. |
Abstract
Therapeutic Jurisprudence is a major force in the contemporary justice system, with its principles informing the practice of drug courts, family violence courts, mental health courts and other solution-focused courts and increasingly, mainstream judging. It values practices that support offenders’ internal mechanisms of change. The use of the self-development technique, Transcendental Meditation in offender rehabilitation is also based on the concept that individuals have unique healing mechanisms within. The practice of this technique produces a unique state of restful alertness, releasing stress, creating greater orderliness in the brain and promoting healing. Research has found that the technique promotes psychological growth and decreased recidivism in offenders. While deserving of wider use in society for the prevention of criminal tendencies and the rehabilitation of offenders, the Transcendental Meditation technique can be used in conjunction with therapeutic jurisprudence based programs. A project based in Geraldton, Western Australia, illustrated how the use of both the Transcendental Meditation technique and therapeutic jurisprudence can promote offender rehabilitation.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |