New Pathways - Prison Project

prison

PROJECTS

Prison/Ex Offender Project

For the past five years, New Pathways has been running a project in Cardiff Prison. Our aim in this project is to provide support to male Prisoners who have been affected by rape, sexual abuse, or severe trauma.

We provide one-to-one counselling, as well as specialised group therapy. This work has proved to be extremely effective, and our clients have shown substantial change as a result of their therapy. The therapeutic work is provided by two fully trained counsellors who meet the stringent requirements of not only New Pathways, but also of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

In addition to one-to-one and group therapy, we also provide Crisis Intervention work, support and help during court procedures and Police interviews for clients who wish to report their abusers, liaison with other agencies, and support services for families of prisoners.

We have recognised through our work with Prisoners that they feel vulnerable and unsupported upon release. Often Prisoners who access our services inside prison request ongoing support for themselves and their families upon release. Therefore, we are in the process of setting up a new exciting project to provide the support which they need.

Our aim is to provide support initiatives that will empower our clients and their families and help them to live autonomously. In doing so, we aim to address the cycle of destructive thought and behaviour patterns that can be present at the point of release, and thus reduce the risk or re-offending and further imprisonment.

We often find that people leaving prison have varying degrees of mental health issues and/or substance misuse issues. One of our aims through working therapeutically with these clients is to reduce their dependency on drugs, whether prescription or other.

In this project we will provide:

- One-to-one counselling services for ex-offenders
- and their families.
- Group therapy for ex-offenders and their families.
- Family liaison services.
- Outreach support services (which may entail supporting people in their houses).

It is also our intention to foster a working relationship with The Probation Service, to research and develop support initiatives. As the project develops we hope that in the near future our services may be used as an alternative to custody.

Usk Prison Project

One of our counsellors has a placement at Usk Prison. The purpose of this project is to provide therapeutic support to professionals working in the field of abuse and trauma at the Prison. The People who use this service include Prison Officers, Prison Managers, Psychologists, Probation Officers, Education Staff and Administrative Grades.

This service has been in place for two years and has proved to be extremely successful.

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SARC
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D/deaf
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