Rehabilitation centre patients to receive post-release interviews

AMMAN — The PSD has begun implementing post-release interviews for patients leaving rehabilitation centres, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

PSD Spokesperson Amer Sartawi said in the statement that the interviews come as part of the PSD’s belief that patients “should be able to rejoin society in a smooth transition, therefore helping them become a better version of themselves”.

During these individual one-on-one interviews, the patients will be able to “sit with a professional and reflect on their time at the centre, helping them see how far they have come and what they plan on doing next”, according to the Director of the Treatment Centre for Addicts, Fawaz Masaeed.

He told The Jordan Times in a phone interview that inmates “usually backslide after being rejected by society once they are back in it, causing them to end up in the centre once more or get caught and go to jail”.

To solve this problem, Mosab Adwan, the senior therapist at the centre said he often suggests “inmates leave with a plan to regain their normal lifestyle, so that they are less likely to get discouraged by society’s reactions to their return”.

He added: “Much like parole, we hope to extend these interviews to months after patients leave, because it is important to continuously check up on them after their release. Coming back here, even if for an interview, reminds them that no matter how hard it is being back in society, their recovery time here was much harder.”

However, for the time being, the one-on-one sessions will take place for a few days after an inmate’s release.

The sessions will also include a feedback survey regarding the inmates’ time at the centre. “It is equally important for us to use their interviews as a channel of honest feedback. After the patient is released into the real world, he or she can help us adjust our treatment plans if they see that they could have been better designed for them,” the director concluded.