Brown, Joanne;
(2024)
‘Moving from suppression to expression is risky’: An IPA study exploring
men’s experiences of psychological therapy in a UK prison.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Aims: The prison population has a myriad of unmet psychological needs, with psychological provision in UK prisons being varied and under-resourced. Understanding how psychology professionals experience their clinical work and professional role while in prison is fundamental to developing and improving how psychological provision is delivered in this context. This review aimed to locate, synthesise and extend upon qualitative research exploring psychology professionals’ experiences. Method: A qualitative systematic review of the research exploring psychology professionals’ experiences in the prison context was conducted using four databases: Embase, Medline (ALL), APA Psych Info and Google Scholar. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool was used to assess quality of eligible studies. Thematic synthesis was applied to the findings of the 11 eligible primary research studies. Results: Four main themes emerged that captured psychology professionals’ experiences of their clinical work and role in the prison context: ‘Prison setting as untherapeutic’, ‘Pressure on the therapeutic relationship’, ‘Positioning of psychology’ and ‘Resilience and growth amidst adversity’. Conclusions: This review is the first to synthesize qualitative literature on the experiences of psychology professionals working in prison settings. It extends upon research citing the ethical challenges faced by professionals working in an environment that conflicts with therapeutic principles. The review also provides novel insights and recommendations for understanding and improving the professional positioning and practice of psychology within the prison system.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | ‘Moving from suppression to expression is risky’: An IPA study exploring men’s experiences of psychological therapy in a UK prison |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10198224 |
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