Scottish Prisons Assessment and Review of Outcomes for Women (SPAROW): exploratory baseline study

Annex Five: Ultimate Self

• Ultimate Self is an accredited offender behaviour programme which is based on principles of cognitive behavioural therapy on compassion focused therapy. It was developed to be trauma-informed and gender responsive to meet the needs of female offenders serving long-term prison sentences.
• The programme was initially developed in 2017 but has since been redeveloped and received Scottish Advisory Panel on Offender Rehabilitation (SAPOR) accreditation in 2022.
• The programme can be delivered in a group format or on a 1:1 basis, and is facilitated by SPS interventions officers and psychologists.
• The programme aims to address treatment needs inclusive of identity, problem solving, relationships, violence and substance misuse. Not all women will undertake all modules, instead a collaborative and individualised formulation is undertaken to identify what work is relevant to each women.
• It has not been under any formal evaluation yet, but there has been a brief unpublished qualitative research study completed recently – which aimed to explore the experiences of women on the programme and how trauma informed principles were experienced. This research is still being written up, however the preliminary results are very positive – with women indicating feelings of empowerment, increased confidence and self-esteem, and increased self-awareness on the back of completing this programme.