Irish Prison Service
Now into its third year of delivery at Limerick Women's Prison,
Playful Reconnections: Parenting Inside, is a unique psycho-therapeutic and psycho-educational
intervention which supports mothers and other family caregivers designed specifically for a prison setting. The aim of this program is to ultimately reduce the adverse effects that parental incarceration can have on a child and disrupt ongoing generational trauma and the cycle of intergenerational incarceration. This is achieved by focusing on the development of one of the identified protective factors against adverse effects of childhood trauma, Safe, Stable, Nurturing, Relationships.
Original infographic Reference: Ford, K., Barton, E., Newbury, A., Hughes, K., Bezeczky, Z., Roderick, J. and Bellis, M., 2019
Original infographic Reference: Ford, K., Barton, E., Newbury, A., Hughes, K., Bezeczky, Z., Roderick, J. and Bellis, M., 2019
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ACES (Adverse Childhood Experience Study)
Being ACEs aware has helped inform the design and delivery of Playful Reconnections: Parenting Inside. As part of the program participants are invited to explore the topic of ACEs, its potential impacts and how to protect their children against them. As part of this module, individuals complete their own ACEs questionnaire and have provided consent for results to be published.
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This has provided us with a sample size of 16. The results, when compared with the wider population findings of the 2019 CDC analysis study, along with the Welsh 2019 male prisoner study highlights the urgent need for Ireland to conduct its own. As service providers this would help us target services and interventions more effectively. In the CDC analysis study it identified 16% of people had 4+ ACEs. The welsh study identified 46% with 4+. The results from our participants captured a result of 75% with 4+ ACEs.
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What makes it different?
Unlike many parenting programs currently available in Ireland today, Playful Reconnections: Parenting Inside offers, not just a psycho-educational component, but a psycho-therapeutic one that considers participants own experience of childhood trauma, adversity and how this can directly impact on the relationship with their child. This is considered within the containment and safety of the relationships within the group and with the facilitators. It's this foundation in relationship that creates a safe space from which participants can begin to think about and explore their C/P relationship with more compassion. This is really important to give space to, especially where there have been significant ruptures to relationships within the family system.
"We repeat what we don't repair."
- Christine Langely Obaugh
Artist: Alexander Milov. ‘Inner Child’ Burning Man festival in 2015
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Bookend Support
Due to their unique position within Limerick Prison, Bedford Row family project have been able to bookend support around the intervention. This is another aspect that makes Playful Reconnections: Parenting Inside different from other parenting interventions available.
With pre-existing relationships with many of the women, Bedford Row are able to identify early on potential participants who may benefit from engaging in the program. Prior to commencing, Bedford row are also in a position to remove potential barriers to engagement. This includes support with completing intake forms, pre and post measures, addressing preoccupations to include arranging family visits or making contact with the social work department as well as, helping to alleviate uncertainties around joining the program. So before even joining the group, participants experience the feeling of being supported and listened too.
On the other end of the intervention upon completion, Bedford Row are available within the prison to support with meaningful, playful family visits as well as positively reinforcing the learning and skills that were gained during the program.
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Clinical Underpinnings
A humanistic and integrative approach underpins the framework for Playful Reconnections: Parenting inside. A humanistic approach acknowledges that each person is unique and that focus on an individual is more beneficial and informative than a focus on groups of individuals with similar characteristics, or in this instants, similar parenting issues, as is the case with many parenting programs currently being offered in Ireland. A humanistic approach also understands that people are inherently good and will grow if provided with suitable conditions.
Built into the design of Playful Reconnections: Parenting inside, is a flexibility that allows for the individual concerns and desired outcomes of the participants, in relation to their own parenting experiences, acknowledging and integrating this as much as possible. This is achieved through early consultation with each participant.
Supporting the objectives and implementation of these, is an integrated approach.
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Filial Therapy is one of the primary clinical modalities integrated throughout the program. It is a family systems therapeutic intervention which focuses on the development of the child – carer relationship using non-directive play skills. Typically the child would be included in the intervention, however an adapted version was developed for Playful Reconnections: Parenting inside. As well as providing practical skills, this Filial Therapy approach also incorporates a psychotherapeutic component by meeting parents with understanding, empathy and acceptance. It is hoped that participants will begin to internalise being meet in this way and ultimately be able to offer it back to their child. Gilmartin and McElvaney, 2020
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Other areas integrated throughout the program include neuroscience research to support learning in child brain development, the impact of early trauma, play development, resourcing parents in the area of self regulation / co-regulation, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy and understanding behaviour as communication in childhood.
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COPE Conference 2023
Hosted by Bedford Row, 2023 will see the Children of Prisoners Europe hold their annual conference in Limerick on the 7th of June.
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With the theme for this year being "Reconnecting through learning and play" various organisations will come together on the day to explore the question "How can we strengthen the child parent bond, when a parent is incarcerated?"
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I am so excited to have the opportunity to speak about the design and delivery of Playful Reconnections: Parenting Inside on the day along side Bedford Row.
Reference /
Further reading
Photo by Iana Dmytrenko on Unsplash
