Groupwork in Prisons
| Date | 01 March 1993 |
| Published date | 01 March 1993 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059304000117 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Garth, Parkhurst, Gloucester and
RESEARCH Featherstone reported none. In total
120 groups were in action, half concer-
ning the four most common themes
mentioned above.
Facilitating Groupwork: Probation
officers facilitate the bulk of prison
groupwork, being particularly respon-
sible for offending behaviour, drugs
and alcohol groups. Psychologist
undertake the greatest responsibility
for anger groups. Prison officers are in-
Groupwork in
volved in less than half of groupwork
in prisons but participate in 45 % of of-
Prisons
fending behaviour work. Outside agen-
cies are, not surprisingly, most
represented in drugs and alcohol work.
Graham Towl, Head of
Forensic Psychology at
In Conclusion : Groupwork appears to
Highpoint Prison,
be most prevalent in women’s prisons
and
conducted
young offender institutions which
a pilot survey in
appear to be more readily acknowledg-
1991 to establish what
ed to have ’special needs ’I‘c~wl predicts
group-work is being
that elderly lifers will be recognised
undertaken and by whom.
soon as a ’special needs’ group. The
Twenty-seven prison
four most common forms of group
lend themselves to
psychology units covering
self-management
stratagems for participants and could
34 prisons in England and
usefully form the basis for facilitators’
Wales were sent
manuals to promote the spread of such
questionnaires; 25 replied.
methods.
Prison
officers
are
significantly under-represented in
Type of Groupwork : The four most
prison groupwork. Generally, group-
work is indirectly (or, less commonly,
common
types of groupwork reported
directly) related to offending or institu-
were: alcohol issues, anger control, of-
tional behaviour associated with ’con-
fending and drugs issues. Other group
trol’
initiatives included the
problems. Towl believes that such
more familiar
work is
pre-release, social skills and
likely to develop further in the
sex offen-
1990s but calls for more active research
ding rogrammes. Less familiar themes
and...
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