Shadows, Projections and Embodied Roles: The Arts in Forensic Rehabilitation

Therapy with violence perpetrators often seems blocked by that which seems unspeakable. This may be due to people lacking words to articulate their experience, while for others, the narratives of their criminal identity can be constraining. So many offender patients are trapped in an identity or role that is linked to their offence, and this sense of being trapped mirrors the realities of their incarceration. Ordinary therapeutic interviews can also risk mimicking the kinds of interviews that the patient may have struggled with in the past; especially with authority figures like police and probation officers. 

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Creative approaches to therapy offer offender patients different ways of approaching traumatic memories (whether personal or offence related). These methods ‘create’ a space for something new to be seen or thought. This day is dedicated to exploring how different kinds of creative therapy allow forensic patients to identify and name their ‘roles’ as offenders, and this process may also allow them to mentalise how other people see them. Within the therapeutic alliance in that creative space, therapists can also explore their reactions to patients, and the projections that arise in the transference and counter-transference. Painful emotions and memories can be safely held in symbols and images that transform the unspeakable into that which can be spoken and digested.

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This one-day, in-person conference will offer presentations and discussions about the use of film, drama and creative writing in the transformation of trauma and meaning in forensic psychotherapy. The IAFP is extremely privileged to have such distinguished experts presenting, and we look forward to lively Q&A sessions with a free exchange of views. We invite people to sign up as soon as possible; numbers are limited because of the venue capacity.