Delivering trauma sensitive and compassion focused prison mental health care: A Single case illustration

Abstract

Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is as promising intervention that has recently gained traction in forensic services. CFT incorporates an understanding of the role of life experiences in shaping human behaviour(s) and organising our social and inter-personal interactions and therefore can be considered a trauma informed approach. This paper presents a case study that demonstrates the use of CFT as a transdiagnostic intervention, when working in a prison mental health care setting. The paper describes the application of CFT to address both mental health and criminogenic areas of need with a client convicted of violence. Key components of CFT are illustrated in addition to the novel approach to working with risk that has become a feature of forensic CFT. The challenges and limitations of the therapeutic work are also highlighted.