RECOGNIZED WITH THE 2020 "INNOVATION IN CORRECTIONS AWARD" BY THE AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION

council for insight, compassion & resilience

Q: What is Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (CICR)?

Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience is a 6-month program designed for incarcerated participants that teaches the practice of council and its facilitation. CICR includes elements of the Introduction to Council Workshop offered by Beyond Us & Them, though tailored for use inside prison. After the initial 16-hour training workshop, participants follow exercises and activities provided in the course manual, exploring topics that unfold in a proscribed evolution and they gather every week to discuss and practice council, facilitated by rotating members of the group. Council topics correspond to the material covered in the participant manual. The CICR program's pedagogy is based on mindfulness and restorative justice principles, focusing on taking responsibility for past behavior and the harm caused to victims, to others who have been impacted (friends, family, community) and passed down through generations.

Q: Evaluation Reports

A 2019 evaluation report on the CICR program conducted by Dr. Stacy Calhoun and her team at UCLA may be found here . Dr. Calhoun's 2022 Process and Fidelity Report on the CICR program at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison may be found here . On April 4, 2018, we were asked to present our preliminary research findings to the California Rehabilitative Oversight Board; view more information on that presentation here .

Our award-winning program for incarcerated individuals has been offered since 2013 and has been launched in 29 California prisons. The program contributes to a shift in culture within jails and prisons and equips participants with tools for successful reentry and reintegration into their communities upon release.

29

California state prisons

4100

incarcerated program participants

evidence-based rehabilitative program for Incarcerated individuals

benefits of our programs in prisons

Physical aggression

Verbal aggression

PTSD symptomatology

Anger

Hostility

Social connectedness

Resilience

Perspective-taking

Mindfulness

Researchers affiliated with UCLA and RAND Corporation found that our Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience program for incarcerated participants demonstrated significant positive change in socio-cognitive functioning.

Research studies have revealed pronounced reductions in physical and verbal aggression and PTSD symptomatology, as well as marked increases in social connectedness, mindfulness, perspective-taking, and resilience.

Beyond Us & Them CICR program_prisons.10

a transformative program for incarcerated individuals

Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (formerly the Inmate Council Program) is a six-month intervention in which participating incarcerated individuals are trained to facilitate council sessions for their peers, empowering them to become positive agents of change, on the yard, and in their lives.

The program contributes to a shift of culture within jails and prisons and equips participants with tools for successful reentry and reintegration into their communities upon release.

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What is Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (CICR)?

Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience is a 6-month program designed for incarcerated participants that teaches the practice of council and its facilitation. CICR includes elements of the Introduction to Council Workshop offered by Beyond Us & Them, though tailored for use inside prison. After the initial 16-hour training workshop, participants follow exercises and activities provided in the course manual, exploring topics that unfold in a proscribed evolution and they gather every week to discuss and practice council, facilitated by rotating members of the group. Council topics correspond to the material covered in the participant manual.

The CICR program's pedagogy is based on mindfulness and restorative justice principles, focusing on taking responsibility for past behavior and the harm caused to victims, to others who have been impacted (friends, family, community) and passed down through generations.

What does it do?

The CICR program tracks the building blocks that lead from self-awareness and empathy to insight into the impact on victims and others, laying the groundwork for a transformative journey of rehabilitation and for stepping into a positive, productive next chapter.

CICR focuses on cultivating a greater understanding of self, environment, and networks of relationships, as well as insight into cause-and-effect and the unique perspectives of those impacted by harmful actions. It guides participants to develop greater self-regulation, emotional intelligence, and accountability.

What does it teach?

By learning and practicing respectful, non-judgmental listening and authentic, personal sharing, participants in CICR cultivate a greater understanding of self, environment, and networks of relationships, as well as insight into cause-and-effect and the unique perspectives of those impacted by harmful actions.

Developing skillfulness in council practice and facilitation hones capacity for self-regulation, tolerance, patience and insight.

Why Council for Compassion, Insight & Resilience?

Research has shown that an effective way to foster insight into victim impact and lasting behavioral change is by focusing on emotional intelligence, as well as teaching skills that develop attention, insight, and the ability to sense one’s own physical, emotional, and mental suffering, as a precursor to sensing the same in others.

Breakthroughs in neuroscientific research have demonstrated that empathy for others develops when one becomes aware of one’s own physical, emotional, and mental states and that there are trainable building blocks that can develop this capacity.

When individuals are trained in practices like council, they gain a greater ability to sense and understand others' distress.

As a result of breakthroughs in neurobiology and greater understanding of the physiology of the human nervous system, our methodology has been designed to:

foster better listening and learning (through activation of the parasympathetic nervous system)
build capacity for empathy for ourselves and others simultaneously (by increasing dendritic connections in neural pathways)
support prosocial understanding and behavior (through improved coherence in heart rate variability)

Learning the techniques and practices taught in CICR creates the physiological conditions that prime participants for developing greater self-awareness, compassion, and insight into the impact of their actions.

Prison Program Research

Independent program evaluation of the Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (CICR) designed and conducted by researchers from the University of California and the RAND Corporation revealed significant positive outcomes in the following areas:

Reductions in physical aggression
Reductions in verbal aggression
Reductions in anger
Reductions in hostility
Reductions in PTSD symptoms
Improvements in mindfulness
Increases in empathy
Increases in resilience
Increases in sense of connectedness with others
Improvements in mental health

Evaluation Reports

A 2019 evaluation report on the CICR program conducted by Dr. Stacy Calhoun and her team at UCLA may be found here.

Dr. Calhoun's 2022 Process and Fidelity Report on the CICR program at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison may be found here.

On April 4, 2018, we were asked to present our preliminary research findings to the California Rehabilitative Oversight Board; view more information on that presentation here.

what participants have to say about our programs:

“The inmates are now looking at each other as individuals, they're able to meet themselves and understand that we all are human, we all have issues, and that's made for a lot safer environment both for our inmates and our staff. They're learning to listen without judgment, they're learning empathy, and that's huge.”

Theresa Cisneros, Chief Deputy Warden, Avenal State Prison

"What I found with this was something totally unexpected. I started to recognize a need for a change in me, a need to give back. I wasn't seeing people as who they were, I was only thinking of me, what can they do for me... and that way of thinking got me to prison. I thought, what can I do to change that? I've been taking, taking, taking... how do I flip that? What council has helped me to see is that I can give back, that I have something valuable to offer that I didn't realize I had."

Joseph, Inmate Council Program Participant at Avenal State Prison

"Literally, within the first day, four of these big old tough guys were in tears, sharing their heart ... it was an amazing thing to see ... I track their 'disciplinaries' and ... I've seen a huge transformation and I can truly tell you that these guys, they have been successful, they are staying out of trouble, and they are opening their eyes to new ways of thinking ... I've been very impressed. I'm so happy the program is here and we're proud to have it."

Carey Ochs, Community Resource Manager, Ironwood State Prison

"I've been in pretty much every group in this prison and this one is different. Being in this group, I learned how to feel someone's story, someone's pain. It's broken stereotypes and the usual way inmates view people who look different. This has almost re-sensitized me to be more human again. I used to have a lot of false strength, I was very selfish before and ... it's humanized me. I truly, genuinely care about the next man. Council helped me develop a sense of trust and has helped me empathize and gain insight into my childhood. It put me in a place where I could be vulnerable inside a place you're not supposed to be. I'm forever thankful for it. It's truly helped me on my path. "

Mitch, Inmate Council Program Participant at Ironwood State Prison

"I think it's great, it's one of the best programs that anybody could participate in. I was hooked the first time. I'm a lifer and I continue to get a lot of growth out of this program.

Council is all about developing skills sets to live an ethical life and to express humility and kindness to other people as well as being able to work on self-esteem and self-dignity. Council allows us to go deep into areas of our life that we never thought would be possible; it's a way to heal the shame that has bound us up and kept us from being our true self.

This allows us to feel like we're human beings, not just inmates…Beyond Us & Them creates a ripple effect of personal growth."

James, Inmate Council Program Participant at Ironwood State Prison

"What I found with CICR was something totally unexpected. I started to recognize a need for a change in me, a need to give back. I wasn't seeing people as who they were, I was only thinking of me, what can they do for me... and that way of thinking got me to prison. I thought, what can I do to change that? I've been taking, taking, taking... how do I flip that?

What Beyond Us & Them has helped me to see is that I can give back, that I have something valuable to offer that I didn't realize I had."

Joseph, Inmate Council Program Participant at Avenal State Prison

"Council has pushed me. It's been healing for me. It actually got me to communicate, it actually helped me to open up more, it actually helped me learn how to empathize with other people and see things from other points of view … When you're opening up to other people, and they're listening to you, and you have the opportunity to express yourself without being judged and criticized, you hear the commonality, and it helps you.

Council helps you learn to discover the true you, that part of you that God created, who you really are: someone who is loving, caring, and compassionate. That's what the human spirit is, and that's what Council has helped me bring out."

Edward, Inmate Council Program Participant at Ironwood State Prison

“When Jared Seide, the director of Beyond Us & Them, came to sit with our group, I learned about Council programs in Rwanda, Auschwitz, and Bosnia and about how people that were once considered enemies are now using this process to come to terms and get along.

Jared talked about how they’re working toward healing and forgiveness for acts of horror and terror committed against one another. He spoke about empathy, compassion, and listening and how that connects with tolerance, acceptance, and peace. I started to understand what was happening in this group. If perpetrators of genocide can be forgiven by their victims and sit at the same table together, why can’t we?

I no longer saw other inmates through the lens of the gang, as the enemy; I see them as someone waiting to be heard, listened to, understood with compassion and empathy, potential links in this chain of peace and human-kindness.”

Sam, Inmate Council Program Participant at Salinas Valley State Prison

Watch the powerful stories of our CICR program

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Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (CICR) Mitch's story

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Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (CICR): someone to Listen

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Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (CICR) Anival's story

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Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (CICR) Joseph’s story

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Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience (CICR) Juan’s story

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Inside a Prison

29 California state prisons

Beyond Us & Them has implemented the Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience in 29 prison facilities operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The majority of the programs began as a result of the Innovative Grant Program, which was established in 2015 by CDCR to "support and advance inmate rehabilitation efforts and increase volunteerism in prisons across the state."

council reentry program

There are so many challenges that formerly incarcerated individuals face upon release, including finding housing and employment, the stigma of being an “ex-offender” and the repair and renewal of supportive and healthy relationships with families and friends.

Beyond Us & Them's Council Reentry Program addresses the needs of formerly incarcerated individuals returning home and committed to successful reentry.

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council reentry program_beyond us and them-sam_and family

funding our programs in prisons

We are grateful for funding that has come through private sources (including the JIB Fund Community Building Initiative), supplementing the state-funded programs and enabling us to expand the reach of the program to several additional facilities.

If you'd like to find out more about supporting our work with incarcerated and system-impacted individuals, click below.

support our work

Leaving Prison Behind: A Council Before I Go

Leaving Prison Behind... is a beautiful and powerful illustrated novella that was created to be a resource for individuals facing the challenges of incarceration, rehabilitation and the path to freedom. It weaves the words, stories and insights of system-impacted individuals and those who support them.

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Leaving prison behind book_jared seide_beyond us and them

supported projects

REDUCING RECIDIVISM ACROSS LA

los angeles reentry collaborative

The Los Angeles Reentry Collaborative is an initiative launched and hosted by Beyond Us & Them that weaves a network of organizations serving formerly incarcerated individuals with the intention of supporting successful reentry and reintegration and reducing recidivism in Central and South Los Angeles.

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