Transforming Lives Behind Bars: Forensic CBT and Systemic Reform in Indian Prisons

Rooted in fieldwork within Indian correctional institutions, this volume brings together psychological assessments adapted for forensic populations, biopsychosocial evaluations, and qualitative and quantitative methodologies. It offers narrative case studies and evidence-based forensic psychology.

Reena Sharma, Ph.D., is a forensic psychologist and criminologist whose work focuses on criminal thinking, behaviour, and offender rehabilitation. She developed the Samarth Model and founded Samarth: Breaking Barriers--India’s first therapeutic prison-based centre, housed within Gujarat Central Prisons.

She has worked in correctional settings including Tihar Jail and Bhondsi Jail, and collaborated with the Gujarat City Police to design, train, and develop a Victim Assistance Programme. Among various other trainings, she is trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Forensic CBT, and neurocriminology-based rehabilitation.

With over two decades of experience across behavioural training, mental health, corrections, and applied behavioural sciences, she is also the Founder of The Mind Practice, offering psychological and consulting services to a wide range of populations, including forensic clients, corporate professionals, and the public. She is an independent researcher actively contributing to the field through practice-based insights and program development.