ABSTRACT
Introduction A number of calls have been made for cognitive processes to be considered in the assessment, analysis, and treatment of offenders (Crawford 1979; Howells 1982; Gudjonsson 1986; Segal and Marshall 1986). Some cognitive theorists have developed models and therapies for particular types of offending behaviour (e.g. Bandura 1971; Novaco 1978; Ellis 1979). Beck’s cognitive model and system of therapeutic intervention adopts a problem-oriented approach, focusing on the emotions, cognitions, and behaviours which the client (and others) experience as problems (Beck 1976; Beck et al. 1979; 1985). From this viewpoint, where the problem is not seen as a mere symptom of illness or personality defect, but is conceptualised in the context of a full individual functional analysis, Beck’s approach to cognitive therapy has been applied to a whole range of emotional disorders as this book illustrates. Increasingly, these developments are being tested empirically through outcome trials and, thereby, are gaining validity and popularity (e.g. Rush et al. 1977; Blackburn et al. 1981; Murphy et al. 1984).
