‘Thinking for a Change’ teaches offenders to take control of their lives by controlling their thinking.

NORFOLK, Va. — Governor Ralph Northam announced that for the third year in a row, Virginia’s re-incarceration rate is the lowest in America.

He said Virginia’s low recidivism rate is due to hard work from the Department of Corrections and the incarcerated offenders.

A new cognitive–behavioral program is part of that progress in decreasing recidivism. It’s called "Thinking for a Change" (T4C), and it teaches offenders to take control of their lives by controlling their thinking.

On Thursday, the first group of female inmates at the Norfolk jail are graduating from the course.

"We're completely invested into trying to make a difference in somebody's life," said Sheriff Joe Baron.

"Makes us feel kind of special, yeah," said inmate Lori Coupland.

This program is already being used for male inmates. Coupland told 13News Now it’s been helpful for women too.

"I spent my whole life in and out of the system by making poor decisions," she said. Now after taking this class, "if you just stop and think with any situation, the outcome can be different."

T4C is a free program, run by staff at the jail. The program has three components: cognitive self-change, social skills, and step-by-step process problem-solving skills.

"I'm grateful that the system has given me a chance to grow up because I've grown through it," said Coupland.

T4C takes small groups of eight to 12 inmates through 25 group sessions, lasting one to two hours.

Most sessions include lecture-based instruction, acting out concepts, and homework assignments to practice the new skills.

All topics confront thought patterns that can lead to problematic behaviors by teaching offender’s important social skills like active listening, mindfulness and recognize risk. Plus, techniques such as recognizing the types of thinking that get them into trouble and understanding the feelings of others.

Social skills lessons help prepare inmates to develop positive social interactions, based on self-understanding and awareness of the impact that their actions may have on others.

Facilitator Tammy Lindquist said, "I know they're not going to come back in here after taking this course and graduating." The inmates feel so grateful for the class they gave the instructors a thank you card, "It's just such a blessing to be in here and be able to do this," said Lindquist.

The National Institute of Corrections created the program for all ages.

There is extensive research showing the cognitive–behavioral programming significantly reduces inmate recidivism, arrests of offenders for new offenses.

One 2009 study, by Lowenkamp and colleagues, found that 23% of the treatment group recidivated, compared with 36% of the control group that didn’t participate in the program.

For more information about training opportunities on Thinking for a Change, go to the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) website.