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61 J. Offender Rehab. 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/wjor61 and id is 1 raw text is: JOURNAL OF OFFENDER REHABILITATION 2022, VOL. 61, NO. 1, 1-19 https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2021.2017384 R outledge Taylor& Francis Group Teaching mindfulness in prison settings: a grounded theory of strategies to promote engagement and empowerment Alexander J. Hilert and Natoya Haskins School of Education, William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Mindfulness-based interventions have been increasingly recog- mindfulness; incarceration; nized as a way to promote the mental health and well-being grounded theory; of individuals experiencing incarceration. However, little is prison; counseling known about the ways in which experienced mindfulness teachers who volunteer in correctional settings facilitate pro- gramming. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, this study explored the teaching practices of volunteers who currently facilitate mindfulness programs in correctional set- tings. A total of fifteen volunteer meditation teachers along with three former group members were interviewed. The researcher utilized interview data to construct a grounded the- ory which conceptualizes the systemic barriers volunteers and participants face, empowering facilitation strategies, and facli- tator and group characters which impact the learning out- comes of participants. The results of this grounded theory illustrate culturally responsive mindfulness facilitation strat- egies counselors can use with individuals who are incarcer- ated. Suggestions for future research and implications are presented. The criminal justice system has become one of the largest providers of mental health services in the U.S. (Roth, 2018). Amid high rates of mental health and substance use disorders, the lack of available treatment pro- grams, and the entrenched racism in the criminal justice system, there is a great need for counseling and mental health advocacy in the criminal just- ice system (Alexander, 2010; Carrola & Brown, 2018). However, the para- digm of correctional treatment has historically relied on deficit-oriented approaches such as risk-management, surveillance, and coercion (Grommon, 2013; Kerrison, 2017). Mindfulness has emerged as an alterna- tive approach to correctional treatment which aligns with a positive, strengths-based orientation to counseling and criminology (Kerrison, 2017; Lyons & Cantrell, 2016). CONTACT Alexander J. Hilert ajhilert@email.wm.edu School of Education, William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23185, USA. C 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC