CPMC welcomes you to a conversation with Dr. Caterina Spinaris and Daria Mayotte of Desert Waters Correctional Outreach with host Fr. George Williams, SJ. They will discuss the psychological and spiritual needs of correctional staff. Desert Waters focuses on advancing the well-being of correctional staff and their families, and the health of correctional agencies, through data-driven, skill-based training.

Caterina G. Spinaris, PhD, LPC, is the founding director of the 501(c)(3) corporation Desert Waters Correctional Outreach, the mission of which is to advance the well-being of correctional staff and their families, and the health of correctional agencies, through data-driven, skill-based training. She is the author of the books Staying Well: Strategies for Corrections Staff and More on Staying Well: More Strategies for Corrections Staff, and the author of the award-winning course From Corrections Fatigue to Fulfillment™ and other staff wellness courses offered by Desert Waters. Together with Daria Mayotte, Caterina recently authored the book Building Bridges with Corrections Staff: Spiritually, Practically, Relationally for correctional chaplains and volunteers. 

Daria Mayotte, M.A., is Desert Waters’ Deputy Director & Acting Director of Training, and she brings with her a rarely found wealth of multicultural corrections experience, combined with teaching experience and clinical training. With a background and love for teaching, Daria Mayotte first developed a passion for those working in prison while teaching literacy to juvenile offenders at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2001-2002. Nine years later she returned to South Africa with her family. Throughout her next eleven years there, she identified and responded to a variety of wellness needs of South African correctional officers and other correctional employees. Daria and her husband Steve came alongside all correctional staff, supporting, encouraging, and challenging them practically, relationally, and spiritually. Having been trained by Desert Waters Correctional Outreach as a “From Corrections Fatigue to Fulfillment™” (CF2F) instructor in 2019, teaching this course soon became a significant key for breakthrough in the lives of South African correctional officers. Daria and her family moved back to the United States in 2021, where she and her husband serve as integral members of the Desert Waters’ team. 

Webinar Resources:

Desert Waters Correctional Outreach website

Building Bridges with Corrections Staff: Spiritually, Practically, Relationally by Dr. Caterina Spinaris