A community of women in prison: More than a voice – therapeutic use of visual and psychodramatic arts

Abstract

This chapter explains the context of the only women's democratic therapeutic community (DTC) in the English prison estate, at Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Send. Following a brief history, it highlights the importance of recognising distinctive contextual factors reflected in the experience of women–as residents, visitors and staff–by contributions in their own words. Based on staff reports and self-reporting by women like Amaal, the introduction of psychodrama as a core creative therapy (CCT) and its short-term use to support the art therapy frame opened up new therapeutic possibilities for women who feel drawn to drama and embodied ways of working, and also for those to whom this implies a step out of the comfort zone. Psychodrama and art therapy enabled past maladaptive life experiences to be adaptively revisited, through creative experiences with a positive impact on the present and future of DTC residents. Creative warm-up for therapy was deemed important: contained spontaneity was enhanced by these, and potential protagonists were encouraged to take back to their small talking groups the themes they named in the initial part of the psychodrama sessions, or depicted in their art work. Whether these themes were worked through in action or not, art and psychodramatic warm-up exercises, as well as both protagonist and auxiliary role-taking seemed to warm up the women for further therapeutic work in talking groups, enhancing their self-confidence, self-reflection and prosocial relating. CCTs seemed to allow for affirmative adaptive experiences, which reinforced new adaptive ways of thinking, managing emotions and behaving. Adequate support and supervision of the psychodramatist and her participation in staff meetings was deemed crucial for creative group work to flourish in a safe, contained, sustained way, built on and built by the DCT living-learning experience as a whole. The CCT model presented in this chapter is neither static nor prescriptive. The combination and format of the CCTs offered to women in prison have been evolving. The approach adopted, incorporating practice-based evidence and residents’ experiences and reflections, adds to the existing work from male DTCs demonstrating the role of CCTs in enhancing practice and improving outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)