Accepting guilt and abandoning shame: A positive approach to addressing moral emotions among high-risk, multineed individuals

Community Reintegration

May 2021

Full Citation

Malouf, E., Youman, K., Harty, L., Schaefer, K., & Tangney, J. P. (2013). Accepting guilt and abandoning shame: A positive approach to addressing moral emotions among high-risk, multineed individuals. In T. B. Kashdan & J. Ciarrochi (Eds.), The Context Press mindfulness and acceptance practica series. Mindfulness, acceptance, and positive psychology: The seven foundations of well-being (p. 215–239). New Harbinger Publications, Inc

Abstract

Positive psychology is not the first thing people think about when they think of criminal offenders, not are values and mindfulness. In our program of research, however, we have found multiple lines of research from positive psychology useful at enhancing inmates' reintegration into the community. In this chapter, we describe three forms of intervention that we have been implementing and evaluating in the context of a larger program of longitudinal research on moral emotions and moral cognitions (Tangney, Mashek, & Stuewig, 2007). We first describe the Impact of Crime (IOC) workshop, an innovative group intervention that draws on a "guilt-inducing, shame-reducing" restorative justice model. Next, we describe our efforts to import components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into a values-based mindfulness group intervention designed for inmates nearing community reentry. Last, we describe the ways in which we have modified motivational interviewing (MI) procedures to best meet the diverse needs and concerns of "general population" jail inmates. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)