Digital behaviour change
This is the third in my series of posts profiling well-known British companies with proven digital expertise in the criminal justice sector. As well as providing a picture of the company and its products, I’ll be asking why so many British tech companies in the sector are more successful at selling their wares in other countries, despite starting their journey on these shores.
This week’s post looks at the work of the Intervention Hub, part of Red Snapper Managed Services LTD.
Range of programmes
The Intervention Hub has developed a suite of over 30 programmes using Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CCBT). Although these programmes are based primarily on CBT, they also make use of other theoretical approaches including: Mindfulness; Desistance Theory; Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT); The Cycle of Change; Motivational Interviewing and Pro-Social Modelling. You can see some of the programmes in the screenshot I have reproduced below.
The Intervention Hub can be accessed via any computer, smart phone, tablet that has access to the internet irrespective of operating system. Programmes can be operated by the service user themselves at any time of day or can be accessed alongside a professional to aid discussion and learning.
The programmes have been designed to cater for all learning style and so include:
- Audio bars for those with reading difficulties
- Visual content such as videos and diagrams
- Written instructions
- Case examples
- Skills practice
- Downloadable content
Each programme is separated into sessions and each session is broken down into three areas:
- Knowledge – The user is presented with multi-modal information to help develop an awareness of the subject matter.
- Understanding – Reinforces and assesses understanding whilst also helping practitioners identify any areas of concern or development.
- New Skills – The user is offered a number of problem solving strategies and skills to make sustainable changes. They are also able to download a PDF summary of the new skill that they can use outside of the session.
The user is required to complete a pre and post completion questionnaire to measure change and offer their own feedback on the programme. At the end of the programme the user can download a certificate of completion and a post programme report is automatically sent to the relevant referring professional within 24 hours of the user completing the programme.
Digital access
The Interventions Hub initially developed its work with a range of different Community Rehabilitation Companies and has built up a substantial evidence base of 50,000 users proving the effectiveness of the approach. However, the organisation has found it difficult to interest the new centralised Probation Service in the interventions and has found the HMPPS Correctional Services Accreditation and Advice Panel unresponsive. The organisation is frustrated by this, feeling that its interventions prioritise the importance of “responsivity”, (ensuring that people with a range of different learning styles are catered for) much more than the standardised tool kits currently being developed by the probation service.
As a consequence, the organisation now works primarily with police services in this country providing a range of tailored interventions for people on Out of Court Diversion programmes. The Intervention Hub works with over 25 police services in England and Wales.
The organisation has also been successful in getting prison and probation services in North America and Australia to adopt its services. Once provided with a good evidence base, other countries’ justice systems appear to be much more responsive to rolling out the latest interventions than our own.
2 responses
Are there any studies evaluating its effectiveness, as it would be useful to provide links to these?
A good amount of peer reviewed research suggests that the effectiveness of treatment is predicated on the relationship between client and therapist regardless of the content. This approach seems to completely remove the effective variable in behaviour change so it would be really interesting to see an independent evaluation of outcomes.