Exploring the efficacy of a bereavement support group for male category C prisoners
a pilot study
Keywords:
bereavement, offenders, prison, groupwork, unresolved griefAbstract
AbstractBereavement features frequently in the lives of offenders. Unresolved grief may also be linked with offending behaviour. This article describes an innovative co-facilitated bereavement support group set up by members of the voluntary organisation Cruse Bereavement Care in a category C male prison. A pilot evaluation study of the group was undertaken, using quantitative and qualitative methods. The results suggest that this model of group intervention, offered alongside one-to-one support, can be useful for some prisoners in reducing levels of despair, blame and anger, and in fostering personal growth, at least in the short term, if they are committed to engage with the group process.
References
Archer, J. 2008. “Theories of grief: past, present, and future perspectives”. In Handbook of bereavement research and practice: advances in theory and intervention, Edited by: Stroebe, MS, Hansson, RO, Schut, H and Stroebe, W. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bowlby, J. 1969. Attachment and loss. Vol.1: Attachment, London: Hogarth Press.
Bradley, K. 2009. The Bradley review: Lord Bradley's review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system, London: Department of Health.
Crighton DA , Towl GJ 2008 . Psychology in prisons (2nd ed) . Oxford : Wiley Blackwell .
Combat Stress (undated) . Service-related mental ill health . Available at www.combatstress.org.uk/pages/ptsd
Dixon, L. 2000. Punishment and the question of ownership: groupwork in the criminal justice system. Groupwork, 12(1): 6–25.
Doka, K. 1989. Disenfranchised grief: recognizing hidden sorrow, Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Ferszt, GG. 2002. Grief experiences of women in prison following the death of a loved one. Illness, Crisis & Loss, 10(3): 242–254.
Finlay, IG and Jones, NK. 2000. Unresolved grief in young offenders in prison. British Journal of General Practice, 50(456): 569–570.
Firth, P. 2005. “Groupwork in palliative care”. In Loss, change and bereavement in palliative care, Edited by: Firth, P, Luff, G and Oliviere, D. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Hammersley P , Ayling D 2005 . Loss intervention project for adult male prisoners – a project in progress . Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society, King's College, London University, UK .
Hendry, C. 2009. Incarceration and the tasks of grief: a narrative review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(2): 270–278.
Hogan, NS, Greenfield, DA and Schmidt, LA. 2001. The development and parametric testing of the Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist. Death Studies, 25: 1–35.
Leach, RM, Burgess, T and Holmwood, C. 2008. Could recidivism in prisoners be linked to traumatic grief? A review of the evidence. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 4(2): 104–119.
Martin TL , Doka KJ 2000 . Men don't cry … women do: transcending gender stereotypes of grief . New York : Routledge .
NACRO 2003 . Youth crime briefing: some facts about young people who offend – 2003 . London : NACRO .
Northern Ireland Prison Service 2005 . Hydebank Wood Prison: the re-integration needs of women prisoners in Northern Ireland . Belfast : Northern Ireland Prison Service . Available from: www.niprisonservice.gov.uk
Olson, MJ and McEwen, MA. 2004. Grief counseling groups in a medium-security prison. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 29(2): 225–236.
Parkes, CM. 2006. Love and loss: the roots of grief and its complications, London: Routledge.
Pietila, M. 2002. Support groups: a psychological or social device for suicide bereavement?. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 30(4): 401–414.
Prigerson, HG, Vanderwerker, LC and Maciejewski, PK. 2008. “A case for inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in DSM-V”. In Handbook of bereavement research and practice: advances in theory and intervention, Edited by: Stroebe, MS, Hansson, RO, Schut, H and Stroebe, W. 165–186. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Prison Reform Trust 2010 . Troubled inside: mental health care in prison . London : Prison Reform Trust .
Rogers, C. 1961. On becoming a person, London: Constable & Co.
Rubin, SS, Malkinson, R and Witztum, E. 2008. “Clinical aspects of a DSM complicated grief diagnosis: challenges, dilemmas and opportunities”. In Handbook of bereavement research and practice: advances in theory and intervention, Edited by: Stroebe, MS, Hansson, RO, Schut, H and Stroebe, W. 187–206. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Strettle W , Heald AH , Bailey S 2009 . Violence and suicide: a male unresolved grief response . Unpublished paper. Department of Medicine, University of Manchester. Personal communication .
Vaswani N 2008 . Persistent offender profile: focus on bereavement . CJSW briefing paper 13 . Edinburgh : Criminal Justice Social Work Development Centre for Scotland .
Veterans Prison In-reach Working Group 2010 . A guide to working with veterans in custody . London : Ministry of Justice .
WHO 2000 . Preventing suicide – a resource for prison officers . Geneva : World Health Organization . Available from: www.who.int/mental_health/resources/suicide/en/
Webster, C, MacDonald, R and Simpson, M. 2006. Predicting criminality: risk factors, neighbourhood influence and desistance. Youth Justice, 6(1): 7–22.
Wilson, M. 2010. This is not just about death – it's about how we deal with the rest of our lives’: coping with bereavement in prison. Prison Service Journal, 190: 10–16.
Woolfenden, J. 1997. Open space – a bereavement and loss group in a closed women's prison. Psychodynamic Counselling, 3(1): 77–82.
