An enactive view of identity transformation: Implications for correctional rehabilitation

We consider the role of identity transformation in desistance from offending, and how it can be targeted through rehabilitative interventions. We identify that while current models of identity transformation (rooted in criminological literature) provide a useful general account, they are limited by an impoverished understanding of what ‘identity’ is, and how this relates to antisocial behavior. We present an account of identity based on the enactive view of human functioning, which suggests that cognition is an emergent process of a biologically embodied and socioculturally embedded organism, which is evolved to facilitate adaptive action (e.g., survival and self-maintenance) in a needful environment. From an enactive perspective, identity is suggested to be fundamentally tied to adaptive actions, with identities existing in relation to cultural contexts and tied to emotional processes. Implications of this view of identity for explanation and intervention are discussed, specifically in relation to the overarching aims of intervention and client engagement.