The Restorative Therapy Project partners with educational institutions to provide mental health services to students that have been impacted by the justice system. Traditional mental health services often fall short of serving both the currently or formerly incarcerated populations because providers lack the knowledge of context and complexity in which correctional facilities are structured, and as such, having providers who have extensive experience working in the field is of essence to provide quality services that are appropriately suited for the needs of those who have experienced incarceration. The normalcy of chaos, toxicity, isolation, and neglect combined with lack of applicable post-release resources makes it difficult to successfully transition back into family, work, or school life.
Through teletherapy, the Project offers individual sessions and psychoeducational workshops tailored to the community’s needs. With an integrative therapy approach, our services incorporate themes of self-acceptance, importance of community, and re-defining personal identity and meaningful occupation. No life can be quite the same after such an experience, but purpose and meaning can be found through impactful discussion and a stronger sense of self. Students are able to take away new interpersonal skill-sets through interactive exercises and discussion that can help them in rebuilding self-esteem and planning for long-term successful reintegration into their lives.
