Over the past decade, the Irish Prison Service has made a deliberate and sustained effort to improve the recruitment and retention of psychologists working in custodial settings. Like many jurisdictions, we have faced challenges in attracting clinicians into prison work and supporting them to stay. What has made the difference for us has been a clear focus on opening doors, early engagement, visibility, and honest conversations about the work.
One of the most impactful changes has been how we engage with psychology training programmes. The Republic of Ireland currently has ten doctoral-level psychology programmes (five clinical, four educational and one counselling); the clinical and counselling courses include a forensic component. Rather than solely delivering this input on university campuses, we now invite trainees into local prisons. Academic teaching takes place on site, alongside a full prison tour. Trainees meet psychologists working in that prison and, crucially, meet people in custody who speak about their developmental histories, their experience of imprisonment and their experience of working with psychologists. Where a prison trip is not possible, people with lived experience provide academic input alongside us in the classroom. This real-world exposure has been transformational. It demystifies prison work and opens doors that many trainees may never have considered entertaining.
The impact has been tangible. Applications for specialist six-month clinical placements in prisons have increased significantly, and this has fed directly into later recruitment. From one programme alone, we received five placement applications from a cohort of twelve Psychologists in Training. And in 2025, we saw a record number of newly qualified psychologists applying to work in prisons.
Another important development has been the introduction of Assistant Psychologist roles in prisons. These are paid, one to two year posts for early-career psychologists who have completed their undergraduate degrees and usually a masters, and are preparing for doctoral training. Working under close supervision, Assistant Psychologists provide primary care mental health input and support young people in custody. Engaging clinicians at this stage of their career has been a highly effective way of building interest, confidence, and commitment to prison work. For a number of years we have also partnered with a university that offers their Master’s in Applied Psychology students the opportunity to complete a two day per week placement over six months. We offer approximately five placements to students of this course annually and have observed that many of these students subsequently apply for Assistant Psychologist jobs.
Alongside this, we make a point of showing up. We contribute to university career days and evenings, present our work and research at non-forensic conferences, the annual Psychological Society of Ireland conference, social inclusion events, and job expositions. . We also invite influential community-based figures — healthcare managers, leaders of professional bodies, and educators — into prisons to meet staff and people in custody. These visits provide a wider awareness of the work being done behind walls.
In essence, the strategy is simple: open the doors of prisons, engage people early, speak honestly about the work, and demonstrate the pride clinicians take in serving some of the most marginalised people in society. We share successes and challenges, and we actively involve people in custody and those who have left custody, whose voices are often the most powerful.
Whilst this work takes people away from the day job, the medium- and long-term benefits — in workforce stability, recruitment, and professional identity — have far outweighed the short-term costs. Additionally, staff have informally provided feedback that the opportunity to discuss the work they do and the rewards therein boosts their morale; it allows them to see the valuable contribution they make more objectively and gives them a renewed sense of pride in their work
Recruitment problems are rarely solved by advertising alone. We learned quickly that if people never see prison work, they are unlikely to choose it. Being visible, honest and accessible — including about the difficulties and the joys of the work — has been central to improving recruitment and retention. Prisons are complex places to work, but when people are trusted with the reality of that work early on, many are far more willing to commit to it.
Dr Clare Kambamettu | Principal Psychologist Manager | Irish Prison Service
Dr Emma Regan | Director of Care and Rehabilitation | Irish Prison Service
Questions? Contact cxkambamettu@irishprisons.ie
