Collaboration between Corrections and Psychology Blossoms
The Hong Kong Correctional Services Department and CityU’s Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences join hands to improve the lives of incarcerated individuals through research-based rehabilitation programmes
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The celebrated poet Oscar WILDE once measured his time behind bars by throbs of pain, bringing to light the harrowing experience shared by many incarcerated individuals. But today, amid the darkness, a ray of hope shines through. A partnership between the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department (CSD) and the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences (SS) at CityU brings solace and healing to those in custody. It has driven both parties to gain a deeper understanding of criminal behaviours and effective ways to promote the well-being and rehabilitation of persons-in-custody (PICs).
The First Seed of Hope
Key to this collaboration is Professor Samuel HO Mun-yin of SS, who has been conducting research on traumatology and resilience for more than two decades. To maximise his research’s impact, Ho developed assessment tools, materials and protocols for evidence-based hope intervention in Hong Kong.
Ho’s research caught the attention of CSD and its team of clinical psychologists. The Department approached him with the idea of establishing the Psychological Gymnasium (Psy Gym), a prologue to the later partnership between CSD and SS and a prime example of how psychology scholars have collaborated with correctional service officers to enhance the quality of rehabilitation services.
Established in 2011, the facility is a personal growth and treatment centre for women, providing gender-specific assessment and treatment for women in custody. Ho provided valuable advice in setting up the Psy Gym, introducing positive psychology concepts such as cognition of hope, positive mindfulness and personal strength to the Psy Gym’s treatment model. The facility also allowed Ho to apply the hope intervention model, which has received highly positive feedback from both users and administrators, enhancing the model of rehabilitation in correctional facilities in Hong Kong and Asia.
