Brookes, L (2025) ‘Safe Together’. A reflection of a therapeutic art programme for children impacted by parental imprisonment. Probation Journal. ISSN 0264-5505

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Abstract

This article reflects on ‘Safe Together’, an 8-week therapeutic art programme for children impacted by parental imprisonment. Eleven children participated (7–13 years). There were multiple aims; (1) upskilling the children as artists and providing them with tools to create art at home; (2) inviting them to use art to self-sooth; (3) providing a safe-space to discuss experiences of parental imprisonment; (4) inviting them to share their work in an exhibition, (5) creating legacy resources illustrated with their artwork. Resources were created to increase awareness about parental imprisonment, and support other children with lived experience in the form of an illustrated booklet. A thematic evaluation was embedded throughout the programme to gather qualitative feedback about the children's experiences of parental imprisonment and creating art-work. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid Model was the central theoretical framework used to consider likely enablers of success in this programme. Children also completed a pre- and post-strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), and parent/caregiver comments were collected to further an understanding of the wider impact of the sessions. Notably, the art exhibition planned to celebrate the cumulation of this programme was cancelled as it coincided with the first UK National Lockdown due to COVID 19. This article reflects on the adjustments made in light of this. In sum, ‘Safe Together’ was considered a useful means for these children to express themselves; unintentionally, the programme also provided a source of support as they entered into lockdown. This article offers recommendations to those considering offering therapeutic art programmes for children with adverse childhood experiences.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	children; parental; imprisonment; ACEs; art; thematic; therapeutic; Pediatric; 7.1 Individual care needs; Generic health relevance; 1602 Criminology; 4402 Criminology
Subjects:	L Education > L Education (General) H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV8301 Penology. Prisons. Corrections
Divisions:	Education
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	05 Feb 2025 16:18
Last Modified:	05 Feb 2025 16:30
DOI or ID number:	10.1177/02645505241300690
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/25550

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