Re-creating a vision of motherhood: Therapeutic Drug Court and the narrative

Abstract

The experience of mothering for women recovering from drug abuse in the criminal justice system is a serious issue. This article describes a study nested in a multi-method community participatory project to improve the services of the Therapeutic Drug Court (TDC) for citizens in our community. Interviews with felonious female offenders with minor children completing a TDC and mental health associates who work with them were analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological approach in the Heideggerian tradition. Findings revealed that mothers could reclaim a vision of parenting with or without their children, with help. This article shows how this reclamation occurs.