Retrospective
Addiction self-help in open men's and women's prisons
On 4th of July 2024, the symposium "Addiction self-help in open men's and women's prisons" took place at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences. The occasion was the publication of a qualitative study on addiction self-help in open prisons, which was carried out at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam in 2023 - 2024 with funding from BARMER.
38 people took part in the symposium, including numerous specialists from Brandenburg prisons, the criminological service and a former prisoner. In his welcoming address, Dean Prof. Dr Frank Früchtel emphasised the importance of time and community for successful addiction self-help processes. Eileen Ullrich from the Criminological Service of the Ministry of Justice of the State of Brandenburg presented current state-specific data on "Substance-related addiction problems in prison admissions" in a keynote speech and categorised this data with regard to the need for further surveys. Prof Dr Friederike Lorenz-Sinai and Lara Schaper then gave a presentation on their study "Addiction self-help in open women's and men's prisons". They presented the results of a multi-perspective study in which the interpretations, perceptions and experiences of (former) prisoners, employees of the general prison service and an external addiction support organisation were examined through participant observation, narrative interviews and group discussions on addiction self-help services in prison. The results illustrate how the actors involved deal with the contradiction of a voluntary, self-determination-based offer in the coercive context of the prison, which group narratives and practices are formed within the group setting and how the offers fulfil different functions within the prison and in the context of release. Prof Dr Jens Borchert from Merseburg University of Applied Sciences then commented on the study. He referred to critical expert debates on the topicality of the concept of the total institution (Erving Goffman) and pointed out the specifics of the open prison system.
After the lunch break, Judith Aillaud and Prof. Dr Haiko Schlink (both head of group services at Blaues Kreuz Deutschland e.V., inside and outside the prison system) and Prof. Dr Jens Borchert, moderated by Prof. Dr Friederike Lorenz-Sinai and with contributions from the audience, discussed the current challenges and future prospects for addiction support services in the prison system.