Developing a compassion-focussed therapy-based intervention (CFTi) for women in prison with prolific self-harm behaviour

Purpose Interpersonal trauma and self-harm are highly prevalent for women in custody. Compassion-focussed therapy (CFT) has previously demonstrated some efficacy and acceptability in these areas but not with a highly complex population. This study aims to design a CFT intervention for women in the forensic setting. Design/methodology/approach As part of the pilot process, interviews were conducted to gather data on the experiences of the two therapists. Data was then analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and important themes identified. Findings Findings were grouped into three group experiential themes: therapeutic integrity, therapeutic processes, compassion in action. Based on this, a therapeutic model detailing essential components of practice was proposed. Practical implications The model of therapeutic practice outlined in this paper provides a description of essential therapeutic components for practitioners delivering CFTi. It also provides a potential benchmark for the future delivery of CFT interventions with forensic populations. Originality/value This is the first time that a CFT trauma-informed model of practice has been described for use with an extremely vulnerable population of women in custody. This study represents the clinical experiences of a very limited number of highly trained practitioners who have extensive experience working with women in custody who have substantial clinical needs including self-harm.