One Day Shoplifters Program

Lighthouse Addiction Services offers a one-day program for participants to address issues of modifying the problem behavior of shoplifting. The one-day program is targeted toward those individuals either identified by the court, probation, Department of Children and Families, or by families that have difficulties in the area of retail or petty theft. Individuals with a long term history of theft as an emotional coping mechanism or who have grand theft charges will more likely benefit from the 16-week behavior management treatment program.

The program uses psycho-educational interventions to facilitate the participants’ understanding of their personal needs and to encourage behavioral change that is more in line with society, their families, as well as for their own benefit. The curriculum specifically addresses an understanding of the emotional basis shoplifting, i.e., to change feelings about their environment, or about their ability to get what is wanted or needed by theft. Interventions are designed to help the individual to recognize the danger signals of a coming loss of control or a return to this socially unacceptable behavior. Techniques that would help the individual to regain or maintain personal emotional or physical control of the impulse to take something without payment are also discussed. We believe that if the participant is brought to the understanding of what the behavior is costing him/her, there is motivation for behavioral change. Consequences are considered in the light of physical, emotional, financial, and relational costs. Programs like this are needed to confront individuals’ belief systems about their inappropriate and maladaptive behaviors and force them to consider the behavior and its attendant consequences. It is hoped the participants will recognize these maladaptive behaviors are not appropriate avenues to get what they want or believe they need from someone else without payment.