M ASTER THEME ONE : A LIGNED TO THE PRISONER

This the e o e s the atu e of the the apists ole a d sta e i espe t to thei lie ts, both within the therapeutic dyad and beyond it in encounters with prison officers. When describing their role to the prisoners, the majority of the participants conveyed their raison d etre as being to provide a supportive ally to vulnerable prisoners in a harsh relational landscape. In the first sub-the e, ot a offi e , the the apists des i ed thei allegia e to the prisoner and differentiated themselves from the role and approach of the prison officers. In the second sub-the e, Bei g i the iddle , the the apists des i ed interactions with staff in which they adopted a role as a protector or advocate for their clients. In this way, the therapists became a bridge, a conduit between prisoners and officers, whilst remaining aligned to the prisoners. In the third sub-theme, the

responsibility to communicate issues concerning risk and security meant therapists were

an us and a them . The the apists des i ed ho the e ui e e t to dis lose i fo atio

to prison authorities was a source of stress and a potential threat to the therapeutic rapport, it symbolising to the prisoner that their allegiance was less than complete. Therapists sought to maintain their human-centred stance towards their clients when dealing with information-disclosure.

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The therapists frequently described their prisoner-clients as having multiple and complex needs, observing that they had often been deprived of healthy, supportive and loving relationships. The therapists saw this deprivation as continuing in the prison environment i hi h p iso e s li e t as est i ted a d the oppo tu it fo health a d positi e relationships limited. As a result, the participants saw a key part of their role as providing prisoners with supportive relationships to counteract their negative or abusive experiences. The therapists stressed the qualitative difference between the relationships they had with their prisoner-clients and the relationships that existed between the officers and prisoners.

Emma observed that a distinctive feature of her role as p o idi g a u i uel u tu i g relationship to prisoners:

I suppose you do offer, to a certain extent, a kind of you know, nurturing, supportive elatio ship, a d so eti es that s the o l pla e i the hole p iso that that individual gets that. Where am I going with that? (Long pause) I suppose, well yeah,

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I suppose so eti es the e s a ki d of, a lot of de a ds o ou, e , (short pause) ou k o , ou e got ou o e sessio a eek ut ou ight e aught i the Wi g

a lie t sa i g a I just he k i ith ou o , o ill ou eet e to u so ethi g ou , o a e just ha e a ui k hat (Emma, 18,12-19,4).

E a efle ted o ho ei g the sole p o ide of this suppo ti e a d u tu i g relationship could also be quite challenging; it placed a degree of pressure upon the therapist as the prisoners became attached to, and possibly reliant upon, the comfort it offered.

For Lucy, providing a supportive relationship was important in an environment where other staff, particularly officers, were seen by prisoners as instruments of the penal system rather than working in the interests of the prisoners. She identified a distinctive aspect of her role:

“o I thi k the fa t that the e s o e pe so that the see o a egula asis, ho s the e purely for them - E , I thi k that fo the , that s eall uite spe ial (Lucy: 14,11-14).

Lu des i ed he self as purely for them , st essi g he o ie tatio to the eeds of the p iso e s athe tha o ki g fo the p iso .

Participants considered themselves also to be distinct from prison officers in the attitudes they held towards the prisoners. The therapists adopted what could be described as a human-centred approach, as exemplified by Helen:

I can give them a choice because that s the atu e of it, a d i a se se that s like a e po e e t fo the , i a pla e he e the p o a l ha e t got a

e po e e t, o , it s soo take a a if the thi k the ha e. E , a d, it s a out control as well, choice is about control. And prison, very little control they have, you k o the ha e to do e tai thi gs at e tai ti es, e , a d it s gi i g the a it of, I suppose it s a hu a it eall , e , the e ha i g that it of hu a it , f o

e, a d I thi k that s i po ta t e ause the e ot t eated as hu a s. The a e treated as criminals (Helen: 17,18-18,7).

T eati g p iso e s like humans as pa ti ula l ide tified as ei g a i po ta t a d ke feature of their approach, one which Helen conveyed to her clients by offering them choice and seeking to empower them. In her extract, we got a sense of her deliberate motivation to offer this to the prisoners in the awareness that they were deprived of it outside of the therapeutic relationship. Similarly, Lucy observed that all other staff saw the label

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da ge ous p iso e efo e seei g the pe so e eath a d as su h, she elie ed he contrasting, human- e t ed app oa h as the most precious thing , a out the relationship she offered.

Belinda set out to empower the prisoners in her relationships with them. She told them to all he he a e athe tha add essi g he as Miss , as the did ith the fe ale p iso offi e s, e ause she did t want that power thing Beli da, , i the

therapeutic relationship. This was a further example of the way in which she and the other participants sought to separate themselves from the role of the officers. Helen went on to explain why this approach was so important:

Well simply because if you treat them as a number in prison, then you will, then you become part of the establishment, rather than someone that is there to give them so e guida e i ho the a help the sel es. “o, e , it s e , i p iso , it see s e , I e o l o ked i p iso a fe ea s ut it see s like it s an us and them situation, and as a therapist you are sometimes privileged to not being us or a them, but to be a someone in- et ee . E , a d I thi k, that s, that s the thi g about being in, having a therapeutic alliance with someone is that the fact that they can do, they can see that (Helen, 3,16-4,5).

It appea ed i po ta t to e disti t f o the esta lish e t, as ei g o e of them as e pe ie ed as ei g i o pati le i thei ole as a the apist o guide , as Helen saw herself. She appeared to say that it was important that prisoners saw that she was not a

them , she as ot pa t of the establishment like the offi e s, ut eithe as she a

prisoner.

Similarly, participants also sought to distance themselves from the officers because the prisoners had a negative view of the prison authorities. Indeed, Emma passionately described the effort it took when first working within the prison as a therapist to establish her identity as distinct from the officers:

I think a lot of people imagine that you are going to be seen automatically - as authority. Erm, and if that were the case, then yes, that would impact massively on trust, but I think I e o ked ha d, to ou k o , to e phasise, that I ot a offi e , a d I ot pa t of the e , ou k o , kind of punitive authoritarian kind of dis ipli e, that I e sepa ate f o that (Emma,15,12-16).

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Emma judged that a separate identity from officers was essential for gaining the prisoner- lie ts t ust a d the efo e to de elopi g a the apeuti appo t. Other participants also reported that demonstrating trustworthiness was an important aspect in their work. Several participants described a process whereby prisoners appeared to vet the therapists to esta lish hethe the e e on their side Beli da, ,15) and therefore whether the prisoner was prepared to enter into a therapeutic relationship. Barbara said that if you

e e t o side ed t ust o th , word would soon spread round the prison , . Beli da reported sensing quite severe consequences were she not deemed trustworthy and

esse tiall o the p iso e s side:

The o e , e , s ell it, the just seek, the ill k o . If the do t se se that ou do a t to help the a d ou e got thei i te est at hea t the ill se se it, a d they will have ou, ou, ou ll e i e eat