Trust introduces a scheme to improve the mental wellbeing of prisoners by providing timely support and help,resulting in a reduction in self-harm

HMP Swaleside is a Category B Training Prison. It accepts category B prisoners who are serving 4 years or more or should have at least 18 months left to serve. It is a main centre prison for prisoners in the first stage of their life sentence. HMP Swaleside also accepts prisoners in the second stage of their life sentence, giving us a total of 460 places for lifers; the current Governing Governor is Paul Newton.

Whilst working in the in-reach team it became very apparent that there were a lot of people in prison that were dropping through the cracks because they didn’t fit the criteria to be accepted onto the in-reach case load. Many of these people were struggling to cope with their emotional well-being. There was no one to go to for support and this led them to thoughts of self-harm and suicide. There were schemes within the prison but no initiative that was proactive and supportive in promoting positive emotional well-being. The counselling service in the prison had been disbanded leaving many people struggling to deal with feelings and past issues.

The aim of the scheme is to promote positive emotional well-being, encourage prisoners to understand their feelings and issues in order to better cope with them which in turn would help build a sense of community between prisoners and staff.

Challenges

We were met with initial reservations from both prison staff and management due to previous peer led schemes (not related to Oxleas) that we misused by those involved. We were finding that a lot of prisoners were not getting support due to not fitting the criteria for certain services, thus the EWB scheme was introduced. One of the main issues that we faced was the lack of an appropriate space to hold the peer-led groups.

Actions

Once the scheme had been up and running the staff began to recognise the good work that the Emotional Well-being mentors were doing. Staff now ask for the mentor interventions and refer prisoners to them directly. We have been able to work closely with the gymnasium who has allowed us to use one of their classrooms four afternoons a week. However if the prison require this room in future we will again face the same issue.

Results

Recently the EWB mentors have been authorised to be called out at night time to a few mentees who are deemed in need of high support. Wing staff have reported that they felt this has on several occasions prevented the mentee from self-harming or attempting to take their life. 179 men have completed the voluntary psycho educational courses based on self-help information, including anger management, CBT low mood and depression and facing up to conflict.

Feedback from current prisoners who are being supported by the Emotional Well-being Mentors has shown a reduction in self-harm; from a sample of 60 mentees, 63% had self-harmed in the past and 24% were currently using self-harm as a way of coping; of these men 57% stopped or reduced their self-harming behaviour since working with the EWB mentors. 78% of the same sample of mentees stated that they had thought of, or attempted suicide recently (within the past 12 months). Since receiving support from the EWB mentors 66% of these mentees had reduced or stopped both thoughts and attempts at suicide. Recent research into the pattern of deliberate self-harm (DSH) and suicide in prisons supports this.

Value

Prisoner feedback- ‘It meant a lot to me- I felt so alone, now I know others feel like me’. ‘Most prisons don’t have EWB mentors so we’re left to suffer in silence but with EWB mentors if I help or just to chat I know I can. This should be brought into all prisons. I am so grateful I have EWB mentors to help when needed’. ‘I feel really supported mentally and emotionally the EWB mentors have been a great help to me, I would like to keep working with them’. ‘They are very good at stopping a problem before it’s a crisis. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my EWB’.

‘Someone to talk to and trust talked through coping exercise which helped a lot my mentor has encouraged me to engage in activities and with my family’. ‘My mental health has been a big problem since being convicted. Having someone to talk to who understands as they have been through the same makes a huge difference’. ‘The EWB mentors have helped me a lot emotionally, I have stopped self-harming and I would like to keep on speaking to the EWB mentors. Without them I would probably seriously disfigure myself or killed myself’.

In detail

Ambition

HMP Swaleside is a Category B Training Prison. It accepts category B prisoners who are serving 4 years or more or should have at least 18 months left to serve. It is a main centre prison for prisoners in the first stage of their life sentence. HMP Swaleside also accepts prisoners in the second stage of their life sentence, giving us a total of 460 places for lifers; the current No. 1 Governor is Paul Newton. Whilst working in the in-reach team it became very apparent that there were a lot of people in prison that were dropping through the cracks because they didn’t fit the criteria to be accepted onto the in-reach case load.

Many of these people were struggling to cope with their emotional well-being. There was no one to go to for support and this led them to thoughts of self-harm and suicide. There were schemes within the prison but no initiative that was proactive and supportive in promoting positive emotional well-being. The counselling service in the prison had been disbanded leaving many people struggling to deal with feelings and past issues.

Outcome

Since the start of the scheme in May 2015 the mentors have grown from only two full time volunteer mentors to four full time paid mentors and 6 volunteer mentors. They regularly work over 25 hours a week giving up their association time to support and help others that are struggling; more recently the EWB mentors have been authorised to be called out at night time to a few mentees who are deemed in need of high support. Wing staff have reported that they felt this has on several occasions prevented the mentee from self-harming or attempting to take their life.

Spread

The mentors undertake 1 to 1 support work for 312 men. They run several psycho educational courses based on self-help information, including anger management, CBT low mood and depression and facing up to conflict; 179 men have completed these voluntary courses so far. Since July 2016 EWB mentors have been authorised by governors to go ‘out of hours’ to see those mentees who are particularly in need of support (this includes night time call outs and during prison lock downs). Other prisons are looking to roll out the scheme in their establishments. We have also been contacted by Intensive Risk Management Service (IRMS) who would like to implement the scheme in the community to support offenders as part of the OPD strategy.

Value

This scheme has already benefitted prisoners by enabling them to cope with their issues and utilise coping skills in order to progress not only with their sentence plans but also their mental wellbeing and behaviour. This in turn has benefitted the prison, with officers reporting seeing EWB mentors diffusing situations on the wing before they can escalate to an incident. Feedback from current prisoners who are being supported by the Emotional Well-being Mentors has shown a reduction in self-harm; from a sample of 60 mentees, 63% had self-harmed in the past and 24% were currently using self-harm as a way of coping; of these men 57% stopped or reduced their self-harming behaviour since working with the EWB mentors.

78% of the same sample of mentees stated that they had thought of, or attempted suicide recently (within the past 12 months). Since receiving support from the EWB mentors 66% of these mentees had reduced or stopped both thoughts and attempts at suicide. Recent research into the pattern of deliberate self-harm (DSH) and suicide in prisons supports this. Financially the use of EWB mentors in a Skilled Helper role saves both the prison and NHS money as the need for Skilled Helper staff is reduced. By having a wing dedicated to EWB mentees which would provide a calmer more therapeutic environment the prison would be able to utilise this in order to reintegrate those staff who had been off on long term sick.

Involvement

The prisoners who have been involved with this scheme, whether as an Emotional Well-being Mentor or a mentee have made a huge contribution to what the scheme is today. They have been given the chance to be believed in, have responsibility and feel proud of the work they are doing; despite being in prison.