Using a Culturally Safe Creative Writing Programme to Empower and Heal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Men in Prison

Interviews with 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male prisoners who attended a culturally safe creative writing programme entitled ‘Dreaming Inside: Voices from the Junee Correctional Centre’, are used to explore how (re)connecting to culture can help improve social and emotional well-being, and how the power of being heard and being able to express feelings and thoughts through poetry and storytelling, can help heal deep-seated emotional trauma and grief. This article addresses a gap in research and theory regarding what types of prison programmes may be of greatest benefit for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners.