Abstract: Prescribing a ‘Good Life’

The Good Lives Model (GLM) is a strengths-based approach to rehabilitation that was designed to augment the Risk, Need and Responsivity principles of effective correctional interventions. Using the GLM, rehabilitation aims to build client capacity to live a personally meaningful and fulfilling life in addition to reducing and/or managing risk to reoffend. In this presentation I will unpack a ‘good life’ prescription as it relates to working with individuals who have sexually offended, and highlight implications of a GLM approach for everyone working to prevent sexual abuse.

Gwenda M. Willis, Ph.D, PGDipClinPsyc is a Clinical Psychologist and researcher from New Zealand; she has worked in clinical and research capacities in New Zealand, Australia and North America. Gwen has received numerous awards and accolades for her research. In 2011, she was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholar award to evaluate applications of the Good Lives Model in sexual offending treatment programmes in North America. Since this time she has written extensively on the application of the Good Lives Model and provided training and programme consultation in prisons and community-based settings internationally.