ABSTRACT
Since 2010, the Department of Health and the National Offender Management Service, in consultation with a team of clinicians, have jointly developed a new initiative now widely known as PIPEs or Psychologically Informed Planned Environments. PIPEs are specifically designed environments where staff members have additional training to develop an increased psychological understanding of their work. This understanding enables them to further create a safe and supportive environment that can facilitate the development of those who live there. They are designed to have a particular focus on the environment in which they operate, actively recognising the importance and quality of relationships and interactions. They aim to maximise ordinary situations to support development and to approach these in a psychologically informed way, paying attention to issues relating to personality disorder, for example. This chapter will describe the concept of PIPEs and how they are implemented in organisations within the criminal justice system, and will report on early research findings regarding viability and impact, particularly paying attention to more psychoanalytical theories regarding deprivation and delinquency.
