Maestra

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 32 (2009) 288–293

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International Journal of Law and Psychiatry

Evidence-based practice in group work with incarcerated youth
Ashley Quinn, Wes Shera ⁎
University of Toronto, ON, Canada

article

info

Keywords:
Evidence-based
Incarcerated adolescents
Best practices
Psychoeducational groupDialectical behavior therapy

abstract
As a result of the Youth Criminal Justice Act's increased focus on restorative justice, treatment, rehabilitation,
and reintegration of youth, many more juvenile offenders require mental health services while resident in
youth detention facilities [Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002, c.1). Ottawa: Department of Justice Canada.
Retrieved September 19, 2008from http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/Y-1.5]. Several common characteristics such
as violence, aggression, and other antisocial behaviors, associated with criminal behavior, have been
identified among male and female offenders. Dialectical behavior therapy, originally developed by Linehan
[Linehan, M. M., 1993a. Cognitive–behavioural treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York:
GuildfordPress] for chronically parasuicidal women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, has
been successfully modified for use with other populations, including violent and impulse-oriented male and
female adolescents residing in correctional facilities. The intent of this article is to encourage the wider use of
dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) with young offenders. It includes an extensivereview of the evidence-base
to date and describes some of the creative modifications that have been made to standard DBT program
format to meet the particular needs of various groups in both Canada and the United States. In keeping with
the movement toward more evidence-based practice, the authors argue that DBT is a promising approach in
group work with incarcerated adolescents and should bemore widely used.
© 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In North America, we have seen a significant increase in the
incarceration of young offenders. In Canada, children and youth's
criminal behavior is governed under the jurisdiction of the Youth
Criminal Justice Act (Youth Criminal Justice Act [YCJA], 2002, c.1). It is
paramount that incarcerated young offenderslearn skills that enable
them to be successful in their long-term efforts to reintegrate into
their communities. All sentencing decisions should take into account
the offenders' potential and opportunity to rehabilitate. Under the
previous Young Offender's Act (1985, R.S., 1985, c-Y1), sentencing
options were loosely defined, which unfortunately led to an overreliance by Youth Justice Courts onsecure custody as a sentence. This
resulted in a high number of youth being incarcerated. Canada and the
United States have the highest youth incarceration rates in the
Western world (Doob & Sprott, 2005). The YCJA addressed this issue
by developing clearly defined sentencing options and guidelines,
including a new “alternative measures program”, which allows judges
to hold youth accountablefor their offence in the least restrictive
manner. The most restrictive sentence that an offending youth can
receive is secure custody. Although secure custody is considered an

⁎ Corresponding author. University of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social
Work, 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S1A1. Tel.: +1 416 978 5900;
fax: +1 416 978 7072.
E-mail address:wes.shera@utoronto.ca (W. Shera).
0160-2527/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2009.06.002

appropriate sentence for emotionally dysregulated and violent youth,
it is also essential that they be treated with respect and given
opportunities to rehabilitate and reintegrate into their communities
(Doob & Sprott, 2005). The Declaration of Principle, section...