Offender Services Information

Substance Abuse Treatment Services (SATS)

In 1996, the Western District of Texas decided the goal of the organization was to use methodologies that worked to help individuals on supervision to become successful. With that idea in mind, the officers throughout the district worked to develop a 21-week cognitive-based relapse prevention program to assist offenders with substance abuse issues. The basic relapse prevention concepts were taken from a program presented by Dr. Roger Peters and associates from the University of Southern Florida. Through the consulting assistance of Dr. Peters, the original draft was significantly modified to include additional sessions for cognitive restructuring, cognitive skills (goal setting, problem solving), and motivational interviewing techniques. Currently, the groups are still used throughout the district with a continued focus on substance abuse relapse concepts as it relates to the participants’ substance abuse issues.

Thinking for a Change

In addition to the existing program supported by Evidence Based Practices, our organization has implemented additional new Cognitive Behavioral programs focused in specific areas of risk identified by current research. The new programs are the following: Thinking for a Change, a National Institute of Corrections-sponsored program. It is an integrated program developed by Dr. Jack Bush and associates and includes sessions on cognitive skills, cognitive restructuring, and problem solving. This program focuses on "thinking errors" that usually lead back to criminal behavior or recidivism. It directly targets antisocial behavior.

Workin’ it Out

The third cognitive-based program is called "Workin’ it Out" by Dr. Steve Parese which is focused on "thinking errors and traps" that occur in the employment setting. This program addresses a concept called "code switching" which involves being able to change the thinking errors or antisocial thinking patterns that directly conflict with an employer's pro-social expectations of an employee.

The U.S. Probation Office of the Western District of Texas is committed to making a difference in the lives of those individuals being supervised by assisting them to make positive changes in their lives while at the same time working toward reducing the risk to the communities we are committed to protect.