Foreign National Prisoners’ Experiences of Therapy with an Interpreter
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Qualitative Study of Foreign National Prisoners’ Experiences of Psychological Therapy with an Interpreter within a UK Prison.
IRAS ID
367079
Contact name
Sophie Sheehan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Foreign national prisoners (FNPs) accounted for 12% of the prison population in June 2025, a 3% rise from 2024 (Ministry of Justice; MOJ, 2025). There is increasing media coverage and public interest in UK prisons alongside growing strong public and political divisions on attitudes towards immigration fuelling an increase in hate rhetoric, discrimination, and attacks on migrants in the UK. FNPs represent the overlap of these two areas of heightened public and political interest: prisons and immigration.
The experiences of FNPs have been characterised as “isolation, language barriers, limited or no family contact, discrimination and racism...” (Banks, 2011). FNPs are often detained past their sentence for unknown time periods putting additional strain on the prison system, including severe overcrowding (Independent Monitoring Boards; IMB, 2025). Such experiences in prison, combined with the current political climate, are likely to have a detrimental impact on mental wellbeing of an already vulnerable group. Furthermore, anxiety about immigration status has been linked to self-inflicted deaths in custody (HM Chief Inspectorate of Prisons, 2024).
Language barriers are one of the most crucial factors in restricting access to mental health services (Priebe et al., 2016). As migration increases, there is a growing need for mental health services to be able to work across languages (Costa & Dewaele, 2012), and for prisons to meet the needs of the changing demographics. Interpreters play a vital role in supporting FNPs to access mental health support. Yet FNPs’ voices are significantly absent in current literature on how psychological therapy with an interpreter is experienced.
This study aims to interview FNPs on their experiences of accessing therapy with an interpreter at HMP Maidstone, a Category C Foreign National Prison. Participants will have completed, or be engaging in, therapy with the NHS Psychological Therapies service (PTS).
This study hopes to amplify the voices of marginalised men, to provide a different and important perspective on the experience, and impact of, within-prison healthcare services, and support in understanding the needs of the changing demographics.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/NE/0067
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion