Pastoral Group Counselling at a High Security Prison in Israel: Integrating Pierre Janet’s Psychological Analysis with Fritz Perls’ Gestalt Therapy

Abstract

This is a report of a short-term, pastoral counselling group conducted with Jewish internees in a high security prison in Israel. It was held as an adjunct to daily secular individual and group counselling and rehabilitation run by the Department of Social Work. Pastoral counselling employed spiritual and psychosocial methodologies to reduce anger, improve prisoner frustration tolerance, and develop a sense of self-efficacy and communal identity. It combined semi-didactic scriptural input with Pierre Janet's personality model, Fritz Perls' gestalt therapy, and analysis of the group process.

Pastors in Prisons and Correctional Settings, Resilience, and the Propensity for Social Entrepreneurship: Comparing two Continuing Education Programs

“…At baseline, resilience and entrepreneurship outcome scores were low for pastors, which validates studies that highlight the issues of pastors working in high-demand prison and correctional settings (Haviv et al, 2020; Nyaberi et al, 2019; see also Brown & Brown, 2015; Derlic, 2020). The need thus, for interventions to target resilience and social entrepreneurship inclination outcomes for prisons/correctional setting pastors, is ratified (Banfield, 2019; Houltberg, 2020; Kesner & Pann, 2020; Krogsrud, 2021; Sielaff et al, 2020; Trotman, 2019).…”

“…Pastors in prisons and correctional settings are engaged in implementing programs to help inmates cope with prison life, improve overall health and rehabilitate, look for ways to reduce violence behind the walls, and reduce recidivism rate post-release (Brown & Brown, 2015; Derlic, 2020). During the course of working in high-demand prison and correctional settings, pastors often face issues of stress and diminished resilience, which needs research and practice attention (Haviv et al, 2020; Nyaberi et al, 2019).…”

“…The effect of spirituality varies based on sociodemographic characteristics of the participants as well as intervention compliance or adherence to the prescribed content of the program and maintaining the distinctive features of the intervention (Crane, 2019). Gender is an important moderator with researchers supporting the contention that spiritual techniques reduce the tendency to ruminate (which is considered the natural behavioral response of women to stressful life situations), and hence women tend to gain more (Robinson et al, 2019; Rojiani et al, 2017).…”

“…Based on the preceding discussion, the following questions emerge, which this study attempts to examine: whether expressive writing sessions or refresher training sessions in spirituality would be more effective in building resilience and entrepreneurial potential for multifaith pastors working in prisons and correctional settings across select South Asian and African contexts? Since a majority of pastoral care research is focused on western contexts, this would also add to a more cultural and contextual understanding (see Banfield, 2019; Brown & Brown, 2015; Kesner & Pann, 2020; Nyaberi et al, 2019). Further, what would be the significant sociodemographic and program compliance-related moderators that would determine the impact?…”

Forgiveness therapy in a maximum‐security correctional institution: A randomized clinical trial

“…Psychological research centered on empirically based interventions within correctional institutions is rare, especially within maximum‐security prisons. After searching the studies for the past 30 years via Google Scholar, PubMed and PsycInfo, excluding a few qualitative (e.g., semistructured interview; see Bouw, Huijbregts, Scholte, & Swaab, 2019) and case studies (e.g., Brown & Brown, 2015), we found only six such research articles in which the effects of psychological interventions were examined in maximum‐security prisons. Two focused on behavioural change (smoking cessation, Richmond et al, 2006; personal responsibility for abusive behaviours, Yorke et al, 2010).…”