Abstract
The goal of this chapter is to get you to examine what you really think about yourself—to examine your self-concept. As a correctional worker, many tools are available to you to modify the behavior of offenders, but your own self-concept is the most important. We next discuss how the offender’s and the correctional worker’s self-esteem affect both behaviors and the counseling relationship. The qualities of effective correctional workers are also presented. The benefits of self-disclosure are discussed next, with a focus on how it can increase your effectiveness as a correctional worker. The chapter concludes with exercises in self-exploration through disclosure. These activities serve to (1) improve self-exploration by disclosing to a partner various aspects of yourself and (2) to give you some experience of what it is like to reveal yourself to a relative stranger.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
Andrews, D., & Bonta, J. (1998). The psychology of criminal conduct. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing.
Arcaya, J. (1978). Coercive counseling and self-disclosure. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 22, 231–237.
Barash, D., & Lipton, J. (2001). Making sense of sex. In D. Barash (Ed.), Understanding violence. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Baumeister, R., Smart, L., & Boden, J. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103, 5–33.
Combs, A., Avila, D., & Purkey, W. (1971). Helping relationships: Basic concepts for the helping professions. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
David, C., & Kistner, J. (2000). Do positive self-perceptions have a ‘dark side’? Examination of the link between perceptual bias and aggression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28, 227–337.
Dewane, C. (2006). Use of self: A primer revisited. Clinical Social Work Journal, 34, 543–558.
Dowd, E. (2004). Cognition and the cognitive revolution in psychotherapy: Promises and advances. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 415–428.
Egan, G. (1998). The skilled helper. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Franken, R. (1994). Human motivation (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Garrett, A. (1982). Interviewing: Its principles and methods. New York, NY: Family Services Association of America.
Lauen, R. (1997). Positive approaches to corrections: Research, policy, and practice. Lanham, MD: American Correctional Association.
Luft, J. (1963). Group process: An introduction to group dynamics. Palo Alto, CA: Henry Holt and Company.
Miller, J. (2015). Contemporary modes of probation officer supervision: The triumph of the “synthetic” officer? Justice Quarterly, 32, 314–336.
Miller, W., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change. New York, NY: Guildford Press.
Okun, B. (1982). Effective helping. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Reaoner, R. (2004). The true meaning of self-esteem. National Association for Self-Esteem. Retrieved from http://www.self-esteem-nase.org/whatisselfesteem.shtml
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Schrink, J. (2000). Understanding the correctional counselor. In P. Van Vooris, M. Brasswell, & D. Lester (Eds.), Correctional counseling and rehabilitation. Anderson: Cincinnati, OH.
Sharp, B. (2005). Changing criminal thinking: A treatment program (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Correctional Association.
South, B. (2007). Combining Mandala and the Johari Window: An exercise in self-awareness. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 2, 8–11.
Taxman, F. (2008). No illusions: Offender and organizational change in Maryland’s proactive community supervision efforts. Criminology & Public Policy, 7, 275–302.
Van Wormer, K. (1999). The strengths perspective: A paradigm for correctional counseling. Federal Probation, 63, 51–59.
Vermeiren, R., Bogaerts, J., Ruchkin, V., Deboutte, D., & Schwab-Stone, M. (2004). Subtypes of self-esteem and self-concept in adolescent violent and property offenders. Journal of Child Psychology, 45, 405–411.
Walsh, A., & Balazs, G. (1990). Love, sex, and self-esteem. Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 18, 37–42.
Walsh, A., & Wu, H. (2008). Differentiating antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy, and sociopathy: Evolutionary, genetic, neurological, and sociological considerations. Criminal Justice Studies, 21, 135–152.
Yablonsky, L. (1990). Criminology: Crime and criminality. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
Zeigler-Hill, V. (2005). Discrepancies between implicit and explicit self-esteem: Implications for narcissism and self-esteem instability. Journal of Personality, 74, 119–140.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
2.1 Electronic Supplementary Material
Data 2.1
(PPTX 66 kb)
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Walsh, A., Wells, J., Gann, S.M. (2020). The Self: Principal Tool of the Correctional Helper. In: Correctional Assessment, Casework, and Counseling. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55226-8_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55226-8_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-55225-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-55226-8
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)