ABSTRACT
Throughout most of the twentieth century, the major method of achieving tertiary prevention was the rehabilitation of offenders. Various forms of rehabilitation dominated the handling of criminals, and a complete listing and brief explanation of all of the various treatment programs set up to deal with deviant behavior would fi ll many volumes. Despite the move toward increased punitiveness since the 1970s, rehabilitation has remained a driving interest in the correctional fi eld. Given this, one would assume that there is clear evidence of successful intervention. The state of the evidence, however, is not as clear. This chapter examines the debate on the rehabilitation controversy, discusses the problems inherent in the research and debate, and considers a few promising rehabilitation approaches. Space and time constraints prohibit all but a brief examination of specifi c intervention approaches. Many other texts have been written and devoted exclusively to the examination of rehabilitation.
