The aim and sense of the prisoners’ life in aspect of penal rehabilitation
Anetta Jaworska Robert Parol
The aim and sense of the prisoners’ life in aspect of penal rehabilitation
KrakĂłw 2009
© Copyright by Oficyna Wydawnicza „Impuls”, Kraków 2009
Reviewer: Prof. zw. dr hab. Iryna Surina
Introduction, chapters 1–3, appendix 1 Anetta Jaworska
Chapter 4, conclusion, appendix 2, references Robert Parol
Cover design: Ewa Beniak-Haremska
ISBN 978-83-7587-106-7
Oficyna Wydawnicza „Impuls” 30-619 Kraków, ul. Turniejowa 59/5 tel. (012) 422-41-80, fax (012) 422-59-47 www.impulsoficyna.com.pl, e-mail: impuls@impulsoficyna.com.pl Wydanie I, Kraków 2009
Contents Introduction .................................................................................................. 7 1. Rehabilitation as a means of shaping the sense and aim of life .................. 2. Art therapy in penal institutions vs. the sense of life and the hierarchy of the inmates’ values .................................................... 2.1. Methods and organisation of research ................................................ 2.2. Research analysis ................................................................................ 3. Alternative sound therapy in penal institutions vs. anxiety and depression of prisoners ...................................................... 3.1. Methods and organisation of research ................................................ 3.2. Research analysis ................................................................................ 4. Life’s purposes of inmates and usage of prison passes during imprisonment ................................................................................. 4.1. Methods and organisation of research ................................................ 4.2. Research analysis ................................................................................ Conclusion ....................................................................................................
9 17 18 20 33 36 37 45 55 60 75
References ..................................................................................................... 77 Appendix 1 .................................................................................................... 81 Appendix 2 .................................................................................................... 83
Introduction
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here are constantly reappearing questions about the point of institutional rehabilitation, during which, instead of changes in personality, there is a developing personality degradation of the nature and life of the isolated person. The problem of modern penitentiarism does not consist in using the wrong methods but in limiting the actions to those means that oscillate around the area of the inmate’s behavior and emotions but do not penetrate their neotic domain oriented toward the sense and aim of human life. The uncertainty of rehabilitation lies in neglecting some realms of existence, i.a. mostly the internal realm. However, it is obvious that a human being’s activity cannot be focused on adapting to biological and social laws only. Viewing the human being merely through the prism of these laws leads to a formalisation of the rehabilitation process and attempt at reaching an advantage over the convict. In the moment that the task set for the person consists in adapting to social norms, the whole existence and the entire authenticity become passive and weak, driven only by external stimuli. Simultaneously, rehabilitation actions cannot be in any way restricted to the internal realm only. The actions that support shaping of the internal awareness must be assisted by concerns about developing the openness to the world and other people. Actions based on internal development cannot lead to a refuge from the real world but helpfully aid activity in the world. This is the context in which rehabilitation should be perceived from the point of view of existential assumption. In accordance with thus understood process of rehabilitation, its aim is not only to stimulate social changes but also enable self-thought and the development of self-awareness and self-definition. Rehabilitation put in existential contexts not only underscores the human being’s freedom and responsibility but also their unconditional solitude in the world. In practice, the existential context of rehabilitation stands for a conscious struggle of the human being with the existential solitude, which no group is able to soothe. Simultaneously, the solitude denotes individuality of each human being who consciously (positively) can take part in group interactions only after establishing relations with themselves. Any other attempts of rehabilitation actions preparing for life in the society without the contact with oneself, after small hopes often expressed in an early parole from prison, frequently end in failure (ascribed to the penal and penitentiary system) and a renewed return to criminality.
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Introduction
Concurrently, the existential context of rehabilitation extends beyond the explored biopsychic aspect of the human being. Existential analysis aims at exploring the spiritual level, its inclination is done ahead. It is connected with the future and refers to the aims. The human being, to a certain extent determined by the laws of nature and the workings of culture, is, after all, able to overcome this conditioning by means of acting within the scope of higher psychical functions – in their spiritual realm. In the traditionally perceived social sciences, the concepts of socialisation are based on a social group (family, local society, the nation) in which the arguments for the teleology of human existence are found. The human being is treated as an element of the social system. In the existentialist approach, the group seizes to be the only indicator of the sense of human life. It is the human being who becomes the creator and the executer of the sense and aim of their own life and no one, who is not themselves, can impose these matters on them. Thus rehabilitation based on the existentialist model must not only lead to the development of a new identity of the rehabilitee but also consist in shaping of a fully authentic person that is aware of their freedom and the responsibility for themselves and the implied responsibility for others and the planet. The changes that are done in the area of pedagogy compel social sciences to open to its heterogeneity and pluralism. In contemporary science there is no place for fundamentalist certainty. A new way of perceiving the world requires a rejection of fanaticism based on the one and only truth (to which the Polish nation was compelled to by the post-war decades), also within pedagogy. Undertaking any social actions should always serve the improvement of the world and this obligation becomes particularly valid in the area of rehabilitation pedagogy, which is a special kind of pedagogy. The primary aim of any type of education is an attempt at shaping a certain ideal person. In the case of rehabilitation education the attempt seems to be a particularly complex task and the complexity implies a necessity to undertake new research and seek new methods of working with people who remain in rehabilitation institutions. Of course, it is not the noble aim that constitutes the essence of the effectiveness of the pedagogical actions but the possibility of their realisation. Seeking such ways that allow for an effective, broadly understood, rehabilitation became to us a stimulus to set about the realisation of the study presented in the subsequent parts of this article. A new, creative, social readaptation needs a departure from the routine and an open attitude towards unconventional methods of acting with people serving a prison sentence for criminal offences.
1. Rehabilitation as a means of shaping the sense and aim of life
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vital drawback that disturbs the feeling of subjectivity of people who are subject to a prison sentence is a significant limitation of the possibility of realising their own preferences, i.a. aims in life and the sense of life. V. E. Frankl (1978: 15–18) claims that the feeling of sense of life results from an experience of satisfaction from life as a whole and it is not given once and for all. Extreme negative life conditions, such as a stay in a penal institution, results in a decrease of the level of sense of existence. In such conditions, the feeling of subjectivity is distorted and contributes to the development of a negative identity. The above mentioned phenomena are connected with a subjective feeling of alienation or even unreality of self, which are consequences of imprisonment. The depersonalisation is primarily associated with a lack of possibilities to realise the aims and plans for the future, or, at least, a postponement of the realisation that lasts years. The lack of possibilities of realising the plans connected with family life and the deprivation of emotional needs, i.a. the need for love and intimacy with another human being that is indispensable for people. The process results in changes in self-esteem and a lack of self-affirmation. Existentialist rehabilitation is, first and foremost, aimed at such aspects of human life (the life of the criminal) as the lack of sense and aim of life, anxiety, depression, internal suffering, a fear of the future, the feeling of guilt and pessimism. The methods of neutralising these negative states that result from life experience and the state of imprisonment contradict the emptiness and lack of sense by means of a spiritual affirmation of self. It is rehabilitation that is directed at developing an ability to sensibly deal with the inevitable states of the human life, which in the case of people ill-adapted in the criminal sense reach extreme forms. In the face of such a state of affairs, it is difficult to speak about artistic rehabilitation focused on development and changes in identity. The aspects of human life, such as artistic activity, the human potential, biophylic attitude and, finally, love for oneself and others, based on humanistic actions will only
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The aim and sense of the prisoners’ life in aspect of penal rehabilitation
be possible after the elimination or the development of an ability to deal with existential states that prevent from developing, which consists in a progressive change in oneself. The need to know oneself does not raise any doubts in pedagogical actions. Learning to become an objective observer of one’s own life means developing an ability to make conscious decisions of changes as they are needed and accepting one’s pain, grief, disappointment as it is an indispensable element of human life. Destructive, pain-inflicting feelings (depression, lack of sense, anxiety) that lead to apathy and resignation from life, prevent the process of rehabilitation. However, a simple negation that is aimed at improving the inmate’s mental state will not suffice, nor will it bring about katharsis. What is indeed needed, is a development of acceptance of life with its ups and downs. So existential rehabilitation does not stand for a training in mood improving techniques (“positive thinking”). The significance of the existence of the human being extends beyond the sphere of psychical comfort. The corrective actions presented in this work aim not only at improving the mental state of the inmates and developing an attitude based on reflection and acceptance and an ability to dwell on one’s life and criminal behavior, but also accepting the indispensable aspects of human life (also suffering), discovering the sense of life and evoking motivation for changes in the deepest spheres of existence. The ability to accept the basic facts of human existence, the feeling of pain as an element of development, the ability to perceive life in a broader perspective (including the perspective of the coffin) are elements of spiritual development which are particularly emphasised in rehabilitation viewed holistically. Since: The human being that is existentially adapted is able to deal with absurd, faith and uncertainty, by being brave, responsible and able to love (M. Adamiec 1988: 223).
Rehabilitation viewed in the existentialist context is rehabilitation based on reaching internal harmony, acceptance of life, including suffering that is indispensable, and seeking the sense and finding the aim of life. Apart from acceptance of suffering (finding its meaning in life as an element of development and not denying the negative emotional states) the inmates should be taught admiration and enthusiasm for life and a feeling of unity with the universe (the social world and the world of nature). Only a human being that functions in an existentialist way is able to undertake the process of their own development, transform themselves and their lives – undertake the process of change. The sense of life is the most important component of the functioning of an individual extending far beyond the biological and psychical realm. In contemplation of the human being, particularly of the human being in the condition of “the lost sense” it is not possible to omit contemplation so essential to their existence. The need for a sense of life is the basic driving force that pushes and propels the human being towards such actions that will lead them to a proper de-
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velopment which include their level of functioning, potentials and other needs, and the represented hierarchy of values. In congruence with social expectations the minimal effect of actions in penal institutions should be to deter the criminal to commit offences against the law. The aim perceived according to the social will should be realised irrespective of the inmate’s ability to obtain satisfaction from life and an optimal individual functioning. In such a view on rehabilitation the concept of the inmates’ sense of life seems to be of marginal significance and not related to the expected process of social change. Empirical research conducted in western countries and, infrequently undertaken in this respect in Poland (A. Jaworska 2007), indicate that the sense of life is inversely proportionate to criminality and servitude of imprisonment sentences. The research results that determine the sense of the inmates’ lives allow to conclude that it is a statistically significant factor and is lower than the average in a free, male population (A. Jaworska 2008). The apparent lack of connection between the inmates’ sense of life and the broadly understood public interest results only from narrow-minded thinking and perception of the human reality. Even the most sophisticated penitentiary rehabilitation programmes prove ineffective as the human being subject to actions does not see the sense of life. We are not able to carry out prosocial changes in cases of criminals with a great feeling of hopelessness and senselessness of further existence, which frequently leads to auto-destructive tendencies. Moreover, according to A. Bałandynowicz (2002: 194) when the inmates loose their sense of life it “increases the probability that after the release from prison they will notoriously act lawlessly”. The point of departure for an effective penitentiary rehabilitation should be based on making the human being able to find their own, individual sense and aim of life and the processes that support the rehabilitation process in penitentiary institutions must be aimed at stimulating the inmates so that they seek the sense. It ought to be reminded that the human beings will be willing to seek for the sense only when they become conscious of the task-based character of life and their own responsibility for what to do in life. Until the convict will remain convinced that they are a victim of a situation, an inmate at the mercy of faith, a victim of the circumstances in life, they will not undertake any attempts at changing the faith and their life. Only by realising their own freedom they will become able to take responsibility for their own life and to manage their life. During the waging of a difficult war for the improvement of the quality of life in penal institutions, relying on developments of social sciences and not omitting the significant role of humanistic changes in criminology, we should not forget about finding the sense. A mature existence of the human being in the world is inseparably connected with seeking and finding the sense, both for those that are oriented at particular activities (aims) and those that strive for the acceptance of life with its ups and downs, uncertainty, effort of seeking, the hardships of existence and the risk of
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The aim and sense of the prisoners’ life in aspect of penal rehabilitation
failure. According to Alfred Adler (1986), what determines the aim of life and its sense is often abstract and very remote, sometimes even unreal. Despite that, having an aim in life is a factor that motivates to action to the extent that the human being acts as if the remote fiction was an immediate reality. The rule of fictitious finalism constitutes the rationale for human actions and their motivation. The willingness to feel the sense and understand the aim of life is the most important directional tendency that determines the existence of the human being – the characteristic of the existence that distinguishes human beings from the world of animals. Lack of sense leads to apathy, doubt, reluctance to undertake any actions for the benefit of their existence and finally leads to auto-destructive actions including suicide. The conditions of suffering in which, at least subjectively, remain people in custody, particularly influences the perception of certain objectively existing values in the world. Undertaking any actions, without the sense of life, becomes deprived of any worth. Rehabilitation has little chances of being effective if there is no willingness to work on changing oneself. It ought to be remembered that the sense of life can also be found in suffering and unfavourable circumstances which will be ascribed a positive intention (V. E. Frankl 1984). The need of a sensible life is much more than a biological need of existence by all means. The animate matter that inhabits our planet to a great extent strives towards a physical survival of the life of the individual and the existence of the species. In the world of flora and fauna that surrounds the human being, the struggle for physical survival in the world is the most significant feature of animate organisms. This rule does not fully transfer to the world of human existence. Among all animate organisms, only the human being does not desire to exist by all means. What they desire the most is a sense in life. It is not “the lasting itself but the completeness of the sense of the lasting” that matters (V. E. Frankl 1984: 83). When one looses the sense of life, one stops making further effort in life, withdraws from it and forsakes all activity. This syndrome is particularly visible in people that remain in the situation of imprisonment. In such conditions setting about any attempts at repersonalisation is a losing battle. The loss of sense in life is the loss of all the most valuable aspects in life (P. Tillich 1994: 53). The methods that support the process of rehabilitation described in the following parts of the book are aimed, first and foremost, at stimulating the realm of human existence, that is, the human’s ability to reflection and thoughts about themselves as a human being living in the world (surviving), and, at the same time, directing the human being towards action in the area of realisation of the values and attitudes in accordance with the rules accepted by the society. The issue of sense is not only a philosophical domain but also permeates the scope of interests of social sciences. The anthropological and psychological concept of sense emphasise two of its elements – recognising and experiencing sense (P. Próchniak 2005b: 28). The recognition of the sense of one’s own existence is
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only the beginning of striving for the feeling and experiencing one’s own sense in the world. The pursuit of sense never ends. A differentiation should be made into the sense that is directly connected with the subject (its existence and development) and the sense connected with experiencing of the world. The personal experiencing of the individual’s sense of existence is different from the perception of the sense of the existence of the world whose exploration considerably extends beyond the topic of this study. The sense of life is, primarily, acceptance of life. V. E. Frankl wrote: Sense cannot be given, it must be found [...]. Life is not about giving sense but about finding sense. [...] one cannot invent sense, one has to discover it [...]. One needs to find sense but cannot create sense (V. E. Frankl 1978: 98; translating: W. Sypiański).
The human being craves sense and seeks for sense, whereas, its lack is distressing. The loss of sense that often accompanies people that remain imprisoned results in depression or even suicidal behavior. The human being always experiences the sense of life as completely subjective and situational. However, in the process of the development of the neotic realm they can generalise their feelings so that they reach a universal sense. In case of lack or presence of destructive external actions influencing the neotic realm the feeling can be generalised in a different direction that leads to a feeling of senselessness, that is, an existential emptiness that often accompanies people that are imprisoned for several years. The realisation of the sense of life, according to Frankl, is carried out thanks to transcendental abilities – exceeding oneself and one’s own weaknesses towards the universal values that motivate the activity in the life of the human being. In case of imprisoned people the special role of rehabilitation actions is played by the broadening of the neotic competencies within the scope of finding the internal freedom despite the conditions of external captivity. According to Frankl (1984) both positive and negative values can become a source of sense. There exist three types of values that give sense to life: • firstly, it can be beneficial and creative work; • secondly, it can be contact with values that objectively exist in the world; beauty, goodness and truth; • and thirdly – the personal attitude towards life and the burdens it entails, towards death and suffering. This idealistic approach towards values objectively existing in the world is what differentiates Frankl from most existentialists who claim that it is the human being that gives sense and value to life and that sense does not exist without the human being. According to Gary T. Reker (P. Oleś 2005: 326) existential realms of sense incorporate:
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The aim and sense of the prisoners’ life in aspect of penal rehabilitation
• Structural components of sense that include: – Cognitive components – assigning meaning to experiences, attempts at understanding values and aims of particular events in life. Rehabilitation within the scope of cognitive components must lead to comprehending by the inmates the value of the punishment. The value that they can find by means of being subject to auto-reflective actions, in the possibility of encountering authentic contact with themselves, attempting change and believing in the possibility of conversion (transformation) of their lives towards its completeness. – Motivating components – directing oneself towards values that bring about the sense and aim of life and suggest which aims to choose and what to strive for, in the name of which values it is worth overcoming the tribulations and traumatic experiences in life. The realisation of values and the mere aiming at them makes life sensible. Values constitute one of the main factors of the dynamics of the human being’s personality. As an extra-subject factor, they set the behavior so that it aims at certain defined objects of the external world. Values determine the more or less stable preference for particular ways of acting (instrumental values) or preferred ultimate aims (ultimate values). They interact with the needs and attitudes of the human being. Thus the direction of action for the human being is defined as a preference for particular ways of conduct or aspiration towards particular existential goals. – Affective components – the feeling of satisfaction resulting from the achievement of sensible aims; the feeling of happiness which not always is a counterpart of sense. The feeling of happiness or simply a good mood to a great extent results from satisfying the needs that play the role of “the standards of regulation” in the structure of personality. Some of them are a part of the biological structure and constitute a necessary condition of life and development. Others are formed in the course of life and are a result of the individual’s learning (H. Sęk 2007). The interpretation of the human being’s behavior requires knowledge not only about the needs and aims of their actions but also about the conditions in which this goal is achieved as the dynamics of behaviour can only be grasped in the relationship between the individual and the environs. While the biological needs are generally satisfied in prison, the psychical needs are almost completely neglected. The prison afflicts the need for emotional contact and the need for respect and social recognition in a most ruthless manner. The possibility to experience satisfaction as a result of achieving sensible aims is drastically limited in prison. Prison art is one of the forms of substituting need satisfaction, letting off the excess of steam, projecting one’s own anxieties and experiencing a kind of katharsis. The basic realm of the feeling of sense in life consists of values of a spiritual character. It should
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be emphasised that the sense of life can also be found on the intellectual and emotional level. • Sources of sense – areas of life in which we can experience sense, e.g. interpersonal contacts, the development of a creative potential, the development of spirituality, self-perfection (physical, intellectual, aiming at achievements, contact with nature). Artistic work, work with the handicapped, the elderly, the sick, the dying (hospices), animal care, pro-ecological activity, religious development (pastoral counselling) and self-development (spiritual, intellectual) can become sources of sense for the imprisoned. Also aims, dreams and wishes can become sources of sense as they are sources of hope. • The scope of sense – the multitude of aspects of life from which sense can be derived. Usually people experience sense from more than one source. The imprisoned have a significantly limited scope of sense. Yet, a strong feeling of sense is frequently connected with a number of sources. It should be realised that broken family life, the possibility to work and develop professionally, the possibility of satisfactory social contacts, getting to know the world and travelling seize to become sources of sense. Life is permeated by overwhelming boredom. The aspects of life from which sense may be derived are limited to the daily prison routine. • The depth of sense – the quality of the experienced sense, its superficiality or depth. The depth of sense is connected with the level of transformation that enables overcoming obstacles and solving antagonisms. People who realise sense by means of pro-social activity or service to others (care) and those who pay attention to ideals that have the status of ultimate goals (religion, spirituality) experience a greater feeling of sense and fulfillment than people who devote energy to the development of personal abilities (e.g. the development of the intellect or a talent) and engage in comfort and pleasures of life (comfortable living, travels). This suggests that the quest for sense should rather be directed at a socially beneficial activity and spiritual development which are the principal topics of this book. One of the needs that the human being seeks in spiritual life is finding sense. Without spiritual life the human existence acquires features of absurd in the world in which the difficulties of life become senseless. “There takes place an oceanic drama between sense and absurd which is called human existence” (J. Kozielecki 1998: 92; translating: W. Sypiański). The motivation of growth governs the need for a sense in life. The mature human being continually seeks the sense in life and the desire is never satisfied. Finding the one aim becomes, at the same time, the beginning of a new quest. Encouraging the seeking is one of the most important criteria of searching for effective rehabilitation in penal institutions. Partial research results concerning the feeling of sense in the inmates’ lives (and also their hierarchy of values, optimism, anxiety and depression) conducted
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The aim and sense of the prisoners’ life in aspect of penal rehabilitation
in penal institutions across Poland in 2002–2007 are presented in this work. These studies aim at defining the significance of different forms of work with the inmates within the scope of rehabilitation support. The presented forms of rehabilitation work will include: art therapy, alternative sound therapy, yoga and the value of a temporary release from the penal institution (temporary release) as methods encouraging the inmates to search for the aim and find the sense of life and its value.