Learning from peer support schemes – can prison listeners support offenders who self-injure in custody?

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the current evidence for peer support in prisons, in particular its contribution to working with prisoners who self-injure and the extent to which the success of peer support schemes such as the prison listeners, hinges upon staff’s willingness to engage with the initiative.

The review was constructed by using primary and secondary terms to search the literature. The studies focused on peer support in custody with reference to mental health and self-injury. Searches identified papers on the prison listener scheme and staff perspectives on prison peer support, as these formed a central focus of the review. Studies were excluded from the review if the participants’ behaviours was explicitly linked to suicidal intent, as the review focused on self-injury as a coping strategy.

A total of 23 studies were selected according to specific inclusion criteria (six were grey literature, 17 academic literature). Of the 23 studies ten studies focused on peer support and self-injury. Of the 23 studies the listener scheme was the focus of 15 studies, of these 15 studies self-injury and the listener scheme was a focus of eight studies.

Evidence from the review suggests that prison peer support could be considered on a continuum depending on the different degrees of peer involvement.