In the company of animals: Accompaniment transforms prisoners into colleagues, teachers, and healers.

Abstract

The setting is a high-security state prison inhabited by over 2,300 men labeled as “ violent, ” often having decades before access to the privilege of parole. Over 400 of these men have life without parole. This particular prison is surrounded by a national forest. We begin by describing current problems in corrections to introduce the dif fi culties facing not only these prisoners themselves, but also the psychologists tasked with rehabilitating them. A serendipitous discovery found that photographs of dogs and nonhuman forest animals opened communication between prisoner and nonprisoner. Then, the story of traumatized adolescent elephants led to prisoners ’ willingness to discuss their vulnerabilities. Eventually, several of the prisoners began to relate as colleagues, as professional equals, by taking the initiative to engage in healing activities such as composing effective therapeutic materials — featuring animals — to share among themselves in a process that became known in the prison as Elephants in the Forest . Scenarios from the prison, along with the literature supporting how these transformative approaches may work, are presented and discussed. Consistent with what psychological theory and data predict, attachment-based, trauma-informed, nature-grounded accompaniment provided foundational support for mutual transformation in both prisoner and psychologist. Designing and implementing such training and programs are recom-mended as vital for the success of prisoners and society-at-large rehabilitation.