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Ireland has 13 prisons with a capacity to hold 4,666 prisoners. Most of these prisons operate at or above capacity with the average capacity of a prison being 115%.
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) have Staff Support Officers whose contribution has been strengthened by the introduction of the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Employee Support and Wellbeing at South Eastern Technological University (SETU). The content of this one-year programme, largely influenced by the IPS Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), provides the graduate with an interdisciplinary grounding and the required knowledge, skills and understanding relevant to their supportive role and complies with best practice, policy and legislation in Ireland.
Staff Support Officers (SSOs), by the nature of the role, witness the distress of colleagues who have been exposed to trauma and a wide range of personal and work-related stressors. Consequently, there may be a potential impact on their own welfare, notably issues surrounding vicarious or secondary trauma. To mitigate this risk, in compliance with our obligations under Health and Safety legislation, intervention in the form of specialised psychological support has been sourced specifically for serving SSOs.
The overarching aims of the programme can be summarised by the 3 S’s – Screening, Support, and Signposting. The screening element involves identifying those who may need extra support beyond what is available in this programme. This support is not counselling, rather it can be regarded as akin to supervision. Participation offers an opportunity to examine one’s ethical practice and glean coping strategies to employ in difficult cases, thus leading to higher resilience and effectiveness. It also provides an opportunity to screen SSOs; to identify those who may be struggling, support them appropriately and signpost onwards if clinically deemed necessary.