Liberty Management Services

Our Therapeutic Approach

LMS employs a holistic treatment approach aimed at addressing the many areas of the person’s life that are affected by addictive behaviors. It is the intent of the clinical services to look at the addiction from a number of areas (social, psychological, spiritual, financial and emotional) and to assist the person in developing the skills and abilities to function effectively drug free.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) - Cognitive Therapy aims to help the offender become aware of thought distortions which are causing psychological distress, and of behavioral patterns which are reinforcing it, and to correct them. The counselor will attempt to understand experiences from the offender’s point of view, and the offender and counselor will work collaboratively with an empirical approach.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach which is used by psychologists, counselors and therapists to help promote positive change in individuals, to help alleviate emotional distress, reduce the intensity of negative emotions and moods, and to address a myriad of psycho/social/behavioral issues. Cognitive Behavioral therapists identify and treat difficulties arising from an individual’s irrational thinking, misperceptions, dysfunctional thoughts, and faulty learning. The therapy can be conducted with individuals, families, or groups. Problems such as anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, low self-esteem, adjustment difficulties, sleep disturbance, and post-traumatic stress are addressed.

Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET)- Motivational interviewing (MI) refers to a counseling approach that is a client-centered, semi-directive method of engaging intrinsic motivation to change behavior by developing discrepancy and exploring and resolving ambivalence within the offender. Motivational interviewing recognizes and accepts the fact that offender who need to make changes in their lives approach counseling at different levels of readiness to change their behavior. Motivational interviewing is non-judgmental, non-confrontational and non-adversarial. The approach attempts to increase the offender’s awareness of the potential problems caused, consequences experienced, and risks faced as a result of the behavior in question. Alternately, counselors help offenders envisage a better future, and become increasingly motivated to achieve it. Either way, the strategy seeks to help offenders think differently about their behavior and ultimately to consider what might be gained through change. The main goals of motivational interviewing are to establish rapport, elicit change talk, and establish commitment language from the offender.

Client-Centered Therapy- Person-centered therapy, which is also known as client-centered, non-directive, Rogerian therapy, is an approach to counseling and psychotherapy that places much of the responsibility for the treatment process on the offender, with the counselor taking a nondirective role. The basic elements of Rogerian therapy involve showing congruence (genuineness), empathy and unconditional positive regard toward an offender. By doing this, the counselor creates a supportive, non-judgmental environment in which the offender is encouraged to reach their full potential.

Group Psychotherapy - A form of psychotherapy in which one or more counselors treat a small group of offenders together as a group. The term can legitimately refer to any form of psychotherapy when delivered in a group format, including Cognitive behavioral therapy or Interpersonal therapy, but it is usually applied to psychodynamic group therapy where the group context and group process is explicitly utilized as a mechanism of change by developing, exploring and examining interpersonal relationships within the group. The broader concept of group therapy can be taken in include any helping process that takes place in a group, including support groups, skills training groups (such as anger management, mindfulness, relaxation training or social skills training), and psycho-education groups.

Strengths Based Practice - A social work practice theory that emphasizes people’s self-determination and strengths. Strengths based practice is offender led, with a focus on future outcomes and strengths that the people bring to a problem or crisis.

Role-playing - Participations adopt and act out the role of characters, or parts that may have personalities, motivations, and backgrounds different from their own.

Psychodrama - A form of human development, which explores through dramatic action, the problems, issues, concerns, dreams and highest aspirations of people, groups, systems and organizations. It is mostly used as a group work method, in which each person in the group can become a therapeutic agent for each other in the group. Reality Therapy is a particular approach in psychotherapy and counseling.

Reality Therapy - Based on a concept called Choice Theory (originally called control theory), the Reality Therapy approach to counseling and problem-solving focuses on the here-and-now of the offender and how to create a better future, instead of concentrating at length on the past. It emphasizes making decisions, and taking action and control of one’s own life. Typically, offenders seek to discover what they really want and whether what they are currently doing (how they are choosing to behave) is actually bringing them nearer to, or further away from, that goal. Reality Therapy is a considered a cognitive-behavioral approach to therapy; that is, it focuses on facilitating the offender to become aware of, and if necessary, change, his/her thoughts and actions.

Art Therapy - A form of expressive therapy that uses art materials and music. This form of therapy combines traditional psychotherapeutic theories and techniques with an understanding of the psychological aspects of the creative process, especially the affective properties of the different art materials. According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is based on the belief that the creative process of art is both healing and life-enhancing. Art therapists use the creative process and the issues that come up during art therapy to help their offenders increase insight and judgment, cope better with stress, work through traumatic experiences, increase cognitive abilities, have better relationships with family and friends, and to just be able to enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of the creative experience.

Behavioral Therapy - The therapeutic focus is on the environmental or external factors which are seen to shape the offender’s behavior. The primary task of the offender is to learn new responses to old situations. The therapy is symptom focused. The counselor’s responsibility is to utilize structure interventions such as operant conditioning, systemic desensitization, and implosive therapy to affect positive changes in the offender’s behavior.