Cognitive behavioral therapy with justice-involved individuals in the community: strengths, limitations, and next steps

Purpose Three decades of research have underscored the important role of rehabilitative interventions for justice-involved individuals, aiming to increase public safety, reduce recidivism and support community reintegration. Much of this research has focused on incarcerated individuals. This review aims to examine cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with justice-involved individuals in community settings, where adjustment after return is a meaningful test of rehabilitative response. Design/methodology/approach The authors review existing evidence on CBT interventions for justice-involved individuals, with attention to reentry, community corrections, rehabilitation frameworks, commonly used programs and limitations in community-based implementation. Findings Existing research supports CBT as a widely used approach for reducing criminogenic risk, but the literature remains outdated and uneven. Studies often emphasize institutional settings, rely heavily on recidivism or revocation outcomes and provide limited information about engagement, responsivity, fidelity, quality of life, mental health wellness and community adjustment. These gaps limit conclusions about how correctional findings generalize to individuals navigating reentry barriers in the community. Practical implications Community-based CBT programs may benefit from renewed evaluation, broader outcome measurement, fidelity monitoring, responsivity-informed adaptations and stronger cross-system collaboration. These steps may help ensure that interventions are feasible in real-world reentry contexts and responsive to barriers that affect engagement and long-term adjustment. Originality/value This paper highlights limitations of the literature, describes promising innovations and offers guidance for applied and empirical next steps, including renewed research, strengths-based adaptations, cross-system collaboration, fidelity monitoring and broader outcome measurement.