Freedom Project: Nonviolent Communication and Mindfulness Training in Prison
SAGE Open
Short Title:
Freedom Project
Format:
Journal Article
Publication Date:
2014/01/07/
Pages:
215824401351615
Sources ID:
68906
Collection:
Mindfulness, Diversity, and Social Justice
Visibility:
Public (group default)
Abstract:
(Show)
Freedom Project trains prisoners in nonviolent communication and meditation. Two complementary studies of its effects are reported in this article. The first study is correlational; we found decreased recidivism rates among prisoners trained by Freedom Project compared with recidivism rates in Washington state. The second study compared trained prisoners with a matched-pair control group and found improvement in self-reported anger, self-compassion, and certain forms of mindfulness among the trained group. Ratings of role-plays simulating difficult interactions show increased social skills among the group trained by Freedom Project than in the matched controls.