Research project

Overview

The Bouverie Centre was funded to develop, pilot, and evaluate a family therapy service in Victoria’s two women’s prisons, commencing June 2020 and concluding June 2023. The project offered evidence-based family-centred education and therapeutic services for women in prison and their families, to promote healing and consolidation of close relationships, in turn nurturing safe and secure environments for women to return to on release from prison. The overarching goal was to reduce the risk of recidivism for women in prison in Victoria. Based on an extensive literature review and consultation process, we developed the “Strengthening Connections” program, a stepped-care model comprising three levels of service delivery to support women’s relational health:

1. group-level sessions,
2. single-session family therapy, and
3. systemic family therapy approaches involving women along with their family or allies.

Cultural sensitivity, particularly for First Nations women, was recognised as an important requirement and was embedded in all program content. During the 3-year service pilot, clinical consultations and process-evaluation findings continuously informed service improvements.

This project was carried out in conjunction with Corrections Victoria and the Department of Justice and Community Safety and was funded by the State Government of Victoria.

Key research highlights

• The service helped women to connect with safe, supportive family members and allies.
• The program emphasised relational self-efficacy through supporting women’s confidence in identifying who to seek support from once they exit prison.
• Women participating at all program levels improved their capacity to attend to their own and others’ emotional wellbeing, including the health and wellbeing of their children.
• There was significant complexity in the presenting clinical issues. Key to safe, sustainable, and productive work was the inclusion of experienced therapists able to readily identify and respond to dynamic challenges whilst maintaining a focus on relational outcomes.

Research publications and shared knowledge

Booth, A. T., Welsh, E. T., Jayasinghe, A., Elliott, A., Tsorlinis, K., Story, K., Lefebour, L., & McIntosh, J. E. (2025). Family-Centered Support for Women Prisoners to Reduce Recidivism Risk: The ‘Strengthening Connections’ Service. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X251389984

Research project team

• Anna Booth
• Ellen Welsh
• Anuradhi Jayasinghe
• Clemency Press
• Thy Nguyen
• Alison Elliott
• Kelly Tsorlinis
• Karen Story
• Jennifer McIntosh