Constructing positive narrative identities in a forensic setting: a single case evaluation of phototherapy

• Date: 11 March 2019
• Pages: 76-90
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-11-2017-0057
• Published date: 11 March 2019
• Author: Emanuela Saita,Monica Accordini,Del Loewenthal
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Constructing positive narrative identities

in a forensic setting: a single case

evaluation of phototherapy

Emanuela Saita, Monica Accordini and Del Loewenthal

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of a phototherapeutic technique called “Talking

Pictures”within the forensic setting. This approach involves the use of a set of photographs to facilitate

clients’disclosure, self-growth and promote the development of positive self-narratives. The use of art

therapies and the construction of adaptive identity narratives have been proven to support desistance and

increase resocialization in the prison population.

Design/methodology/approach –A 42-year-old Italian male offender was met for six therapy sessions and

invited to talk about his past, present and future through the use of photographs. Session transcripts were

analysed using the software for linguistic analysis T-LAB.

Findings –Results show a progression in the language used during the sessions: in the beginning the client

uses a denotative language with many concrete nouns and no emotional words, in subsequent sessionshis

speech begins to assume more symbolic connotations and emotional words are used to describe past

traumas as well as to find new meanings to present events. Moreover, the fixity of the client’s self-image is

contrasted with the emergence of new sides to his personality encompassing agency and self-worth.

Research limitations/implications –The study is based on a single case, therefore results cannot be

generalised to the prison population; moreover, the absence of any follow-up and standardized

measurements of the client’s progression should be addressed by future research by both involving larger

samples and including follow-up and quantitative measures of the study results.

Practical implications –The paper provides details on an innovative technique that might be used to

explore the offenders’goods and values and to develop truly redemptive rehabilitation programmes.

Originality/value –This paper adds to the scant literature on phototherapy in prisons and connects it with a

reflection on desistance indicating that phototherapeutic interventions might be used to promote positive

self-narratives, thus increasing desistance.

Keywords Forensic setting, Discourse analysis, Narrative identity, Sex offender, Phototherapy,

Prisoner resocialization

Paper type Research paper

Art making and art therapy are increasingly being used in various contexts, including forensic and

prison facilities (Gussak, 2006, 2007; Persons, 2009). Art therapy can be defined as a “mental

health profession in which clients, facilitated by the art therapist, use art media, the creative

process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster

self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality

orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem”(American Art Therapy Association,

2013). Specifically, some authors (Gussak and Virshup, 1997; Gussak, 2007; Milliken, 2002)

explored the benefits of using art making with the prison population as ways of overcoming

barriers to verbal expression such as illiteracy, hypo-emotionality, poor cognitive skills or

stigmatisation. Art therapy programmes have proven effective in reducing recidivism and

behavioural problems within the prison population (Milliken, 2002). Moreover, Gussak (2004,

2006, 2007) found that creativity and art production is beneficial in terms of promoting positive

behaviour and enhancing problem-solving skills while reducing depressive symptoms. It is,

however, within the area of personal development and self-growth, that artistic media show their

Received 29 November 2017

Revised 28 February 2018

3 July 2018

13 July 2018

Accepted 13 July 2018

Emanuela Saita and

Monica Accordini are both

based at the Faculty of

Psychology, Universita Cattolica

del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.

Del Loewenthal is based at the

University of Roehampton,

London, UK.

PAG E 76

j

INTERNATIONALJOURNAL OF PRISONER HEALTH

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VOL. 15 NO. 1 2019, pp. 76-90, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200 DOI 10.1108/IJPH-11-2017-0057