Indiana Prison Writers Workshop: The Power of Group Cohesion and Creative Expression among Incarcerated Individuals

Abstract

Objective: The present study describes the development of the Indiana Prison Writers Workshop (IPWW), a creative writing workshop, based in group theory and designed for incarcerated settings. Methods: Quantitative evaluation data from IPWW workshops conducted from 2023-2024 were analyzed using IBM SPSS V. 29. Prior to the workshop, 149 men responded to questions on class expectations and goals, and 115 men responded at workshop conclusion. Open-ended qualitative responses from post-workshop data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Quantitative data demonstrates the effectiveness of IPWW in teaching writing skills and reflects participants’ agreement that the workshops provide opportunities to share their work and receive feedback from peers and the facilitator. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data: 1) self-expression, 2) skill development, 3) self-reflection, 4) perspective, and 5) therapeutic. Conclusions: We discuss how these results influence group cohesion among incarcerated men and explore implications for future research and IPWW program development