Moral reconation therapy

Domain II · Behavioural & cognitive · Gregory Little, Kenneth Robinson · 1985 · Tennessee

What it is

Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) is a manualised, workbook-driven, cognitive-behavioural group programme. Gregory Little and Kenneth Robinson developed it in the mid-1980s for a Tennessee prison drug-treatment unit, and it was first run in 1987. It is aimed at offenders and other clients regarded as…

Format

• Phases of a client's course
• Intake (individual, before first group): interview, pre-test, issue of workbook, Step 1 instructions, workbook receipt, participant agreement (rules, confidentiality, fees where applicable).

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• MRT is a single proprietary programme, not a general model. Facilitators must be trained and certified by CCI, follow its handbook and use its workbook. This guide describes how certified delivery works. It is not a substitute for that training.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Plans with no near-term action.
• Excuses replacing problem-solving.
• Perspective-taking that turns into self-justification.
• Drift (skipping exercises, lecturing, rushing passes).
• Wants listed as needs, such as entitlement to substances.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.