The Data

Abstract

A key aspect of our approach to the research was to examine the process of change and the meaning that was attached to that change. Our research brief had been set by Roland Woodward, as Dovegate’s first director of therapy. As well as identifying the TC residents’ degree of change on various psychological characteristics, such as self-esteem, anger and sense of alienation, each of which has been associated with maintaining criminal lifestyles, Roland wanted us to explore the process of treatment. This meant looking at the idiosyncratic needs and following the journeys of TC residents whilst in the Dovegate TC, as well as explicating what ex-residents took with them back into mainstream prison and also when returning to the world outside. In keeping with the ethos of the TC, we tried to encourage the TC residents and ex-residents as much as possible to comment on their own lived experiences, as we were anxious to recognise their expertise and value their insights about Dovegate. Being in the TC meant engaging with and doing the work of therapy. We wanted, as far as we could, to extend a sense of active engagement in terms of their research participation.