Reaching for a Good Life – An Application of the Good Lives Model of Offender Rehabilitation with Men who are Abusive in Intimate Relationships

Abstract

Reaching for a Good Life (RFGL) is a program for men who are abusive within an intimate relationship. RFGL has 4 components: a weekly orientation group, individual intake interview, the 16 week group program and the exit interview. Engaging men in the therapeutic process begins with the weekly orientation session. Participants experience a brief explanation of how violence progresses in intimate relationships and are engaged in a discussion of the process. This process allows participants to make an informed choice about their fit with the group content and process. Consent forms are signed and intake assessment tools are completed at this session. Participants meet with an individual therapist who creates a Good Life Plan with participants. In the individual interview the results of the testing are discussed with the participant and the therapists hears the man’s experience that brings him to therapy. Participants then begin one of the weekly group sessions at the start of the next modules. The group itself is comprised of 4 – four-session modules. These modules are Self-awareness and Arousal Management; Emotional Communication and Conflict Management; Ethical and Moral Decision-making; Consciousness Raising: Power and control. This presentation will describe the RFGL program.