A Music Therapy Prisoner Reentry Program

This capstone thesis project is a development of a model based upon an extensive literature review that examines literature from numerous sources on the history of incarceration, current incarceration rates, the evolution of mass incarceration, psychological needs of offenders and ex-offenders as well as reentry programs. It also exams music therapy literature on incarceration and interventions used with this population. Reentry literature indicates ex-offenders who have received treatment before, during and after incarceration have a higher chance of being successful in their reentry efforts (Gill & Wilson, 2017). The literature also indicates those who receive assistance with housing, substance abuse treatment, employment opportunities, social support and mental health treatment have greater numbers of success (Gill & Wilson, 2017). This writer seeks to blend literature from all sources into a music therapy reentry program with evidenced- and practice-based interventions that can guide ex-offenders into becoming valued members of a society that has historically ostracized them.