H:AAA From ElementsEBP officePCRAPICSGeneral Criminal ...

1 Understanding and Targeting General Criminal ThinkingAdapted from the Psychological Inventory of Criminal thinking styles , developed by Glenn Walters; Walters (2013)Also adapted from Kroner & Morgan (2013). District of AZ (2015)ControlEgocentrismPower OrientationAsserting Power over OthersSuper OptimismGetting Away With Anything EntitlementFeeling Above the LawSentimentalitySelf-Serving Acts of Kindness May have a simplistic world view (strong or weak) They try to control theirsurroundings by dominatingactivities and people, tocounteract their feelings ofimpotence or powerlessness. Motivated by immediategratification and interpersonalcontrol External control - (power)Internal control (self-discipline)they put themselves in an "up"position and feel better aboutthemselves by putting anotherperson : through CBT andproblem solving.

2 FOCUS - on thedevelopment cognitions and skillsrelated to self-discipline. Because people get away with thevast majority of their crimes theycan engage in a Criminal lifestylefor months, sometimes years,before experiencing the negativeconsequences of their lifestyle. An attitude of invulnerabilitydevelops due to escaping thephysical, psychological, and legalconsequences of habitualcriminality. They convince themselves thatthey will to escape consequences. However, this only makes their eventual fall that much : through CBT andthe use of the Decisional Balanceworksheet, explore negativeconsequences for their actions. Work to raise their awarenessabout the negative consequences oftheir Criminal thinking .

3 Fostermotivation to consider newthinking patterns. Before crime can become a realitythe person must grant themselfpermission to commit thatparticular crime. They may tell themselves thatthey are entitled to commit crimebecause they have had a hard life,rough week, or bad day. They can be creative in how theygo about granting themselvespermission to commit crime(manipulate a conflict with aspouse or employer) to justifycommitting a crime. This often involves a sense ofownership or privilege andfrequently entails themisidentification of wants : through CBT,help distinguish between trueneeds versus wants. Develop apersonal inventory of values andgoals to raise awareness ofdiscrepancies between valuesand behaviors.

4 They distort their thinking inorder to deny behavior isself-destructive and/or harmful. Rather than making excusesbecause of perceived injustices (mollification), insteadsentimentality involves justifyingtheir actions by takingemphasizing the positive thingsthey have done. Religion, family, and the welfareof strangers are areas they mightuse to reduce guilt throughsentimentality. True caring is concern is focusedon another person, sentimentalityis a selfish attempt to shine apositive light on oneself byperforming one or more "gooddeeds."Intervention: work to assist them in seeing that good deeds donot erase harmful actions. Raiseawareness of how others have beenharmed by their Criminal actions,whether or not such harm and Targeting General Criminal ThinkingAdapted from the Psychological Inventory of Criminal thinking styles , developed by Glenn Walters; Walters (2013)Also adapted from Kroner & Morgan (2013).

5 District of AZ (2015) cognitive ImmaturityMollificationMaking ExcusesCutoffIgnoring Responsible ActionCognitive IndolenceLazy ThinkingDiscontinuityGetting Sidetracked They lay blame for their behavioron external sources and userationalizations andself-justification to avoidresponsibility for their actions. They may talk about inequity andunfairness of life. They try toavoid responsibility for theiractions by "proving" tothemselves and others that theyhad no choice but to do crime. In failing to assume responsibilityfor their decisions and behavior,they are eliminating potentialavenues of change andintervention, which in the endonly serves to protect the : use CBT, help themsee that injustices do not excuse, orjustify their behavior.

6 Encouragethem to stop externalizing blameand start taking responsibility fortheir actions and decisions. Theyneed to accept responsibility for theconsequences of their actions anddecisions. Commitment to a criminallifestyle requires that the personpossess the ability to eliminatecommon deterrents to is used to eliminatedeterrents just as a person shutsoff a light switch to darken aroom. The phrase: "#uck it" is the mostcommon cutoff observed ininmate populations. However, other cutoffs arepossible. Some people, in fact,use drugs as a cutoff. Alcohol togive yourself false courage,heroin to calm down, or cocaineto pump themselves up prior tocommitting a : use CBT tools and strategies to help them identify andchallenge their thinking patterns,such as stop and think.

7 Workto help them develop skills to avoidand cope. People who habitually commitcrime are as lazy in their thinkingthey are in their actions and takethe path of least resistance,although this path is fraught withpitfalls and booby traps. They have probably taken manyshort-cuts, knowing full well thatthese short-cuts may eventuallylead to disaster. They are much more interested inpursuing the short-term benefitsof crime than worrying about thelong-term consequences of acriminal lifestyle. They take an uncritical view oftheir plans and ideas. They mayalso be easily bored, and maypursue excitement to compensatefor a shallow andunder-stimulating inner : use CBT andproblem solving.

8 Develop andreinforce their progress increasing AWARENESS of, EVALUATIONof and MANAGEMENT of theirthinking. They are easily sidetracked anddistracted by things going onaround them. This lack of consistency inthought and behavior is calleddiscontinuity, and is what oftenfrustrates a person's attempts atlong-term change. They have difficulty maintainingany commitment to change orfollow through on commitmentsand good intentions. This lack of consistency alsogives rise to a "Jekyll and Hyde"pattern in which the person wearstwo different masks, 1 whencommitting crime, the other when in non- Criminal : discontinuity is themost difficult of the eight thinkingstyles to address, because theindividual is often oblivious to theinconsistency evident in their thinking .

9 Use frequent feedback ondiscontinuous actions and skillbuild around goal setting andSMART planning.