nderstanding and managing Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in a South Auckland Corrections Facility- a pilot randomised control trial to test the efficacy of group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).

A single centre Randomised Control Trial (RCT) pilot study was undertaken with 55 consenting prisoners utilising a manualised, combined, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)/Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) intervention to facilitate coping for participants. Measures of post-concussion symptoms, negative affect repair and in-prison infractions were assessed at baseline, following the intervention and after twelve weeks. A thematic analysis was also conducted to understand the participants’ experience of TBI and the intervention/study process. The study found no statistical differences in the demographics between the intervention and wait list controls across the three time periods. There was reduction in the post-concussion symptoms, but no statistical differences between the groups were found across the three time periods. There were improvements in negative affect repair strategies for both groups, which were statistically significant for the intervention group following completion of the intervention, but this was not sustained at the twelve-week follow-up. Through the process of this thematic analysis, three main themes arose, namely: the journey into jail, the intervention and new understandings.