Prisoners perceptions of a mental health wellness workshop

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on the evaluation of a one-day mental health wellness workshop which was delivered to male prisoners in an urban prison in the Republic of Ireland. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate the workshop. This paper presents the findings of the qualitative arm of the evaluation. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured telephone interviews with ten participants who had completed the programme. Findings The participants were overwhelmingly positive about the wellness workshop and the qualitative interviews articulated the ways that the workshop impacted on their ability to manage their own and other peoples mental health. Originality/value As prisons attempt to limit the negative impact of prison life, implementing recovery orientated approaches such as the wellness workshop can have a positive impact on prisoners' mental health as well as raising their awareness and improving their attitudes towards mental distress and suicide. The concepts of self-help and peer support, espoused by the workshop offer a real opportunity to equip interested prisoners with skills to support themselves and other prisoners who are in distress.

Developing mental health awareness and help seeking in prison: a feasibility study of the State of Mind Sport programme

“…In contrast to the increase in knowledge of mental health, there was no associated significant increase in intentions to engage and offer support to those with mental health concerns. However, focus group results showed prisoners intentions to more readily act as a sounding board for others following the SOMS programme, alongside an increased willingness to open up to others, reflecting similar findings from a mental health wellness programme (Keogh et al, 2017).…”

“…This research gap may be partly explained by the complicating factors of restriction, control and power imbalances inherent in the prison context (Abbott et al , 2018). In a qualitative study by Keogh et al (2017), the impact of a mental health wellness workshop on prisoners was examined. The programme encouraged participants to monitor and evaluate their own mental wellness and seek appropriate support.…”

The Experiences of People Who Are Incarcerated in Accessing Mental Health Care

“…In this scenario, accessing mental health care in the context of the custodial environment further traumatized this participant and was not therapeutic. Additional examples of stressful incarceration experiences reported by participants included needing to wear a figurative mask while in custody to hide their feelings (Keogh et al, 2017) and feeling powerless and frightened by the problems and fights within the prison environment and the crowded living conditions and consequent lack of privacy (Gabrysch et al, 2020; Jacobs & Giordano, 2018). These participant experiences highlight the nontherapeutic nature of custodial facilities, particularly for people with mental illness.…”