Forensic Psychotherapy: Pathologies and Treatment Strategies for Working With Violence

Running a Prison for Violent Offenders as a Democratic Therapeutic Community

Grendon – a Category B, medium secure prison, is the first prison to operate as a dedicated therapeutic community (TC). In this third video filmed with staff at Grendon Prison, which specializes in the therapeutic treatment of violent prisoners, Richard Shuker explains how democractic TCs offer a “consciously designed, social environment and program of treatment intended to help their members understand and less or overcome their social, psychological and emotional problems”. Their offender behavior is understood to be the result of early experiences of trauma or abuse in childhood. In TC prisons, the residents and prison staff work together to separate these childhood experiences from the offender behavior and thus prepare prisoners for a non-offending future. Richard describes the principles of a democratic therapeutic community (safety, interpersonal relationships, emotional regulation, self-management and psychological wellbeing).