The choice of the topic of my master's thesis was mainly influenced by the lectures and workshops from the module Psychosocial support and help within the social work postgraduate study programme. The topic of involuntary interactions caught my interest. Social workers are often in working relationships with clients who are obliged to participate. People also build relationships with social workers because of the benefits they can receive, even if they do not wish to participate. Prison is a state authority to which people who have committed a crime are sent on the basis of the decision of a court. While serving their sentence these people work with a variety of professionals, such as psychologists, educators, occupational therapists, and social workers. To encourage participation in a working relationship, social workers must take into account the circumstance of serving a prison sentence, since it may affect the helping process. The profession and science of social work provides social workers with a language they can use and practices they can rely on when interacting with clients who do not participate in the helping process on their own initiative. Firstly, the theoretical part of this master's thesis defines the historical background of imprisonment, then, follows a review of the theories and purposes of punishment. According to sociologist Goffman and philosopher Foucault, prisons are categorized as total institutions. The first part of the theoretical introduction concludes with the challenges of prison deinstitutionalization. The second part presents the role of social workers in Slovenian prisons. It also describes the role of social workers during an offender’s admission process, during their imprisonment, and right before their release from prison. The last part of the theoretical framework describes the professional and scientific contributions of social work, which can support correctional social workers. The empirical part researches job tasks, the behaviour of social workers in prisons, the possible difficulties they face on the job, and the possible improvements they want. The interviews with the professionals who perform the duties of a correctional social worker show that social workers work with offenders from their admission to their release. A wide range of knowledge is crucial for the performance of correctional social work. Social workers rely on the knowledge and skills of social work. They face a variety of challenges while providing support and help to people serving prison sentences.
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