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Books & Papers

Dialogue Training for Inmates - Encouraging Pro-Social Behavior

John F. Walrath and Wardenia Lassiter

At Indian Creek's Cognitive Therapeutic Community — Virginia's only one — most residents arrive by court order for substance-abuse treatment. A flyer in dorm HU-4B invited them into dialogue built to grow the pro-social skills that make re-entry stick.

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Indian Creek's mission centres on substance abuse treatment, with most inmates enrolled by court order; the facility's broader goal is developing the cognitive and pro-social skills that support successful re-entry into the community. In May 2021, a flyer went up in dorm HU-4B inviting inmates to a 12-week Dialogue Skills Training programme, meeting once a week for 90 minutes. HU-4B was chosen for its high COVID vaccination rate, its demographic diversity across race, age, and sexual orientation, and because its residents had largely completed the therapeutic community phases and were preparing for release. Captain Lassiter led the sessions as Dialogue Practitioner, supported by Unit Manager Pamela Wood; the eleven participating inmates ranged in age from 21 to 64. Published in The World Needs Dialogue! Four: Putting Dialogue to Work (2022), the paper documents how developing an authentic voice and the capacity to listen actively are reframed here as practical re-entry skills, as relevant to the transition back into community life as any vocational qualification.

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Books & Papers

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Dialogue in prisons and justice settingsUS corrections

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