Interview with Jonathan Asser

Abstract

In this interview, Jonathan Asser recounts how working in prisons with violent male inmates was the inspiration behind ‘Starred Up’, his acclaimed film about a young man who enters adult prison for the first time. The film offers an insight into the innovative Shame/Violence Intervention (SVI) that Asser pioneered whilst working as a group therapist at HMP Wandsworth. Asser’s approach included getting members of his groups to acknowledge the shame they felt before these feelings became unbearable and escalated into violence. Drawing on the ideas of American psychiatrist James Gilligan, Asser found he was able to work with the most violent and institutionalised prisoners by developing a technique that relied on a particular use of his counter-transference. Asser also talks about the personal experiences that led him into working therapeutically with this client group.