The 'GEO Continuum of Care' (CoC) platform is designed not only to decrease recidivism, but to give participants a second chance at life. The Health Services Department at Riverbend Correctional Facility (RBCF) in Milledgeville, Georgia, decided to get on board with an innovative Wellness Education Program that takes a holistic approach to inmate health care. Currently, there are two ongoing groups that address the emotional and physical needs of offenders: art therapy and diabetes education.
Beth McDonald, MA, LAPC, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Counseling from the Adler Graduate School. In 2014, she became a Mental Health Counselor at RBCF and formed the first art therapy group in July 2015. Each class is about an hour and a half long and starts out with thirty minutes of coloring mandalas. Mandalas are designs that are circular and are commonly used therapeutically to help patients relax.
During the next half-hour, the participants do an art therapy exercise designed to increase self-awareness, express feelings, and help identify unconscious thoughts and behaviors. The last half-hour is devoted to discussion time where participants are encouraged to share their drawings and talk about the process. The art therapy group at RBCF has had a positive ripple effect that wasn’t planned. Some participants have been given extra mandalas which they’ve brought back to their dorms to form coloring groups as well as creating art galleries and contests. The Faith and Character dorm is now offering an art class based on the art therapy curriculum.
Charles Coleman, RN, graduated from Georgia College with a degree in Management Information Systems and Communications and received his nursing degree from Gordon State College. Coleman has been working at RBCF since 2013 and started a diabetes education group this past spring. “My hemoglobin A1C was getting high and I was on the verge of being a type 2 diabetic,” says CharlesColeman. “I wanted to educate myself and thought a diabetic group would help me and many of the inmates I was seeing who really didn’t know much about their disease.”
The group meets for one hour each week for four weeks with five participants in each rotation. Charles Coleman has developed a curriculum for the class that includes making healthy choices at store and snack time, exercise and fitness, mental health contributors, and teaching the long-term effects of diabetes on the body. Each class also has a discussion component where the participants can share their challenges, successes, and encourage one another. Charles Coleman says he has had 100% participation each week and the participants are very involved in learning more about how to manage their disease.
With a solid commitment to wellness, the Health Services Department at RBCF, in conjunction with GEO's CoC program, is already developing future classes and groups concerning asthma, high cholesterol, a sleep class, yoga, and meditation.
