An exploration of staff and prisoner experiences of a newly commissioned personality disorder service within a category B male establishment
| Published date | 08 August 2016 |
| Pages | 216-228 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-08-2015-0044 |
| Date | 08 August 2016 |
| Author | Jennifer Marie Hadden,Susan Thomas,Lorna Jellicoe-Jones,Zoe Marsh |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Forensic practice |
An exploration of staff and prisoner
experiences of a newly commissioned
personality disorder service within
a category B male establishment
Jennifer Marie Hadden, Susan Thomas, Lorna Jellicoe-Jones and Zoe Marsh
Jennifer Marie Hadden is a
Forensic Psychologist in
Training and Susan Thomas is
a Chartered and Registered
Forensic Psychologist, both at
the North West Psychological
Services, HMP Garth,
Lancashire, UK.
Lorna Jellicoe-Jones is a
Consultant Clinical
Psychologist and Clinical Lead
at The Beacon Personality
Disorder Assessment and
Treatment Service, HMP Garth,
Lancashire, UK.
Zoe Marsh is a Chartered
Psychologist and Registered
Forensic Practitioner at the
North West Psychological
Services, HMP Garth,
Lancashire, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore staff and prisoner experiences of a newly implemented
Personality Disorder Service (PDS) within a category B male establishment.
Design/methodology/approach –A semi-structured interview was used to explore the experiences of
seven male category B PDS prisoners and eight PDS members of staff (four National Health Service (NHS)
clinical staff and four prison service staff) from a multi-disciplinary team (MDT). Interviews were transcribed
verbatim and thematic analysis was completed.
Findings –Prisoner sample:one overarching theme “environment”organised twothemes: “enabling factors”
and “disabling factors”which had a subtheme “integrating men who have sexually offended onto the unit”.
Another theme “opportunities for self-development”was identified. Staff sample: an overarching theme
“environment”organised two themes:“enabling factors”and “disablingfactors”.Anoverarchingtheme“multi-
disciplinary working”organised two themes: “working in partnership”and “cultural differences in working
practices”. Two further themes were: “professional development”and “stressors”.
Research limitations/implications –This study focused on a small sample of staff and prisoners and their
experiences of a newly implemented PDS. In addition, both staff and prisoners volunteered to take part in the
study, and therefore may not be a representative sample. Consequently the results cannot be generalised to
other establishments or PD services.
Practical implications –Staff and prisoner experiences indicate that a multi-disciplinary approach to
personality disorder services is desirable and can be effective. Prisoners are gaining experiences of positive
therapeutic relationships with staff and hope that their experiences of the PDS will reduce their risk of
reoffending. Staff experiences indicate that the integration of two services presents challenges and that they
are working to overcome these. It may be advantageous for the impact of cultural differences within a MDT to
be explored further.
Originality/value –This is the first study thatexplores the experiences of the MDT and prisoners of the newly
implemented PDS. The PDS forms part of the new development under the National Offender personality
disorder pathway.
Keywords Category B, Experiences, Multi-disciplinary team, Personality disorder pathway,
Personality disorder service (PDS), Service users
Paper type Research paper
General introduction
Personality disorders (PD) have a community prevalence of 4.4 per cent in the UK and “are
associated with a significant burden on the individuals with the disorder, and those around them”
Received 26 August 2015
Revised 15 November 2015
Accepted 16 November 2015
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JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PRACTICE
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VOL. 18 NO. 3 2016, pp. 216-228, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8794 DOI 10.1108/JFP-08-2015-0044
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