Work–Life and Well-Being in U.K. Therapeutic Prison Officers: A Thematic Analysis

• Published date: 01 October 2018
• Author: Craig A. Jackson,Emma J. Walker,Matthew Tonkin,Helen H. Egan
• Date: 01 October 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18778452
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X18778452

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2018, Vol. 62(14) 4528 –4544

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18778452

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Article

Work–Life and Well-Being

in U.K. Therapeutic Prison

Officers: A Thematic Analysis

Emma J. Walker1, Helen H. Egan2,

Craig A. Jackson2, and Matthew Tonkin3

Abstract

Previous research has clearly demonstrated the positive impact of therapeutic

interventions on offenders’ well-being. Much less is known about the impact on

prison staff facilitating and delivering such interventions. We employed qualitative

methodology to capture a deeper understanding of the work of therapeutic prison

officers. Seven prison officers working in a U.K. Category B therapeutic community

prison were interviewed about their working lives, including their own participation

in therapy. Following a thematic analysis approach, key findings indicated that the

physical and cultural work environment was very important to staff; the therapeutic

element of their job role, although demanding, was both satisfying and rewarding;

and that working in a therapeutic prison environment provided the opportunity for

personal as well as professional development. We conclude that further attention

should be given to the unique nature of therapeutic prison work and the positive

impact it can have on well-being at work.

Keywords

well-being, prisons, occupation, therapeutic communities, work–life

In discussing the origins of the therapeutic community prison (TCP), Stevens (2010)

writes, “prison-based democratic therapeutic communities have evolved from their

unlikely wartime psychiatric antecedents, into a well-established, internationally

1Ulster University, Coleraine, UK

2Birmingham City University, UK

3University of Leicester, UK

Corresponding Author:

Emma J. Walker, School of Psychology, Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UK.

Email: emmajwalker@gmail.com

778452IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X18778452International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyWalker et al.

research-article2018

Walker et al. 4529

respected, alternative model of imprisonment and treatment” (p. 19). Her Majesty’s

Prison (HMP) Grendon, for example, which is the only fully dedicated TCP in the

United Kingdom, is divided into separate therapeutic wings, each of which operates as

an autonomous therapeutic community (TC). These communities are based on four

key principles: responsibility, empowerment, support, and confrontation (Cullen,

1994). Routine procedures within the prison embody these principles on a regular

basis. Chief among these procedures are small therapy groups and feedback. During

therapy groups, prison officers encourage prisoners to talk, among other things, about

their offences to address offending behaviour and antisocial attitudes. Following this,

feedback informs community members about what took place in the small groups—

highlighting any traumatic or sensitive issues (Wilson & McCabe, 2002). The approach

of staff within secure therapeutic settings forms an integral part of the therapeutic

process and helps to facilitate respect and a sense of community.

Many studies have been conducted looking at the efficacy of therapy on offenders’

psychological and emotional health and well-being during their time in custody. One

such innovative example was the Good Vibrations project, which aimed to help

develop offenders’ team-working and communication skills through a series of

gamelan (Indonesian percussion) workshops. The study concluded that participating

in the project had a sustained and positive emotional and psychological impact on

participants (Wilson, Caulfield, & Atherton, 2008). The results of this and other simi-

lar initiatives may, therefore, help to promote further facilitation of therapeutic activi-

ties. Although the benefits of therapy for offenders’ well-being are well established in

the literature (e.g., Rivlin, 2007; Wilson & McCabe, 2002), little is known about the

motivational and affective experiences of prison officers working in such prisons.

The centrality of staff–prisoner relationships in aiding and maintaining the rehabili-

tative process is consistently acknowledged (Crewe, 2009; National Offender

Management Service, 2008). Yet, despite this, Liebling, Price, and Shefer (2011) note

that prison officers are still regarded as the invisible ghosts of penality and this is espe-

cially apparent in the paucity of research examining the day-to-day experiences of the

working lives of prison officers compared with that of other public uniformed profes-

sions such as police officers. Research looking at hazard exposure in police work

(Collins & Gibbs, 2003; Houdmont, Kerr, & Randall, 2012) has found policing to be

a stressful occupation; this is despite police officers having much less prolonged con-

tact with potentially troubled individuals. The relationship between offenders and

prison officers is often a more sustained one, in that, prison officers spend a continu-

ous amount of time with the same prisoners in their care, many of whom have suffered

personal traumas.

Research that has focused on the broad nature of prison work gives a clear picture

that this is a stressful occupation, which can result in burnout and poor work–life bal-

ance. In particular, it has been found that excessive job demand negatively affects

prison officers’ mental health status (see Kinman, Clements, & Hart, 2017; Schaufeli

& Peeters, 2000), leading to symptoms of emotional exhaustion and burnout. Similarly,

a study conducted by Johnson and colleagues (2005), looking at the experience of

work-related stress across occupations, found poorer psychological health among