Moral Reconation Therapy—MRT® was found to significantly reduce dropout, increase participation by minorities, reduce disciplinary infractions, and lower recidivism.

What is Moral Reconation Therapy—MRT®?

Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy that aims to increase moral reasoning and reduce criminal behavior. It was developed in the 1980s for individuals with substance abuse and criminal histories. MRT is often used as a treatment for individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system, but it may also be used in other settings.

MRT is a structured, systematic treatment that typically involves group or individual counseling sessions. During MRT, individuals are encouraged to reflect on their past behavior and the impact it has had on others. They are also encouraged to develop a sense of empathy and to identify and internalize positive values and moral principles.

The therapy is designed to be a step-by-step process in which individuals progress through different stages of moral development. This process is believed to lead to a reduction in criminal behavior and an increase in positive behaviors and attitudes.

MRT has been widely adopted as a treatment in the criminal justice system, and some practitioners and researchers believe that it can be an effective tool in reducing recidivism. However, the effectiveness of MRT has been the subject of some debate, and more research is needed to fully understand its impact.

Moral Reconation Therapy—MRT® resulted from the experiences of Little and Robinson during their early years at the Shelby County correctional institution.  Many offenders who participated in the 1970s-1985 drug treatment therapeutic community were highly functional and appropriate during their stay in the behavioral-oriented program.  However, the failure rate after release was considered to be too high and dropout was a nagging issue.  Understanding that the offenders had particular character and personality traits that led to this failure was one thing, but addressing these traits was quite another. MRT was created as a systematic method designed to address the issues peculiar to that population. It was either the first—or one of the very first—workbook-based cognitive-behavioral methods applied to offenders. Moral Reconation Therapy—MRT® was found to significantly reduce dropout, increase participation by minorities, reduce disciplinary infractions, and lower recidivism. Over 200 studies have been done on MRT outcomes. MRT-treated offenders have been assessed for recidivism for over 20 years, which is, to our knowledge, the only such recidivism study ever done on offender or substance abuse treatment for an extended period. The outcome showed that even after more than 20 years, offenders treated with MRT still showed significantly lower recidivism as compared to appropriate controls.

The term “Reconation Therapy” was conceptualized for fairly simple reasons. The term reconation was coined by Wood and Sweet in 1972 when they began the Shelby County Correction Center’s Drug therapeutic community (DORP).  Conation is an archaic term, which was commonly used in psychology until the term ego replaced it (circa 1930).  Wood and Sweet used it because conation refers to the conscious, decision-making part of the personality.  Thus, reconation was an attempt to have offenders reevaluate their decisions. The moral part of MRT comes from the moral development structure proposed by Kohlberg. MRT is a process that seeks to raise the moral decision-making strategy of individuals.

The MRT materials were refined essentially through trial and error, some inmate input, and ongoing research.  The adult offender workbook of MRT was first published in 1986.  The basic offender workbooks and its procedures currently utilized (How to Escape Your Prison) contains a majority of the work and refinements made to Moral Reconation Therapy—MRT® over these years.