International Journal of Language & Linguistics

Discursive Psychology Interpretation of Inmates’ Wellbeing in Olokuta Prison Counselling Interactions, Akure
Adaku Chinenye Amaechi

Abstract
This study is a discursive psychology interpretation of inmates’ wellbeing during prison counselling sessions in the Olokuta Medium Security Prisons (MSP), Akure, Ondo State. To achieve this, the study investigates phonosyntactic elements in prison counselling discourse, and addresses interpretation of codes under utterance forms as a strategy that enhances inmates’ overall wellbeing during PCI. The Prison Counsellor and/or Clinical Psychologist (PC/CP) employ interactive devices such as elicitation in talk, punishment distancing and encouragement/motivation; the inmate clients construct scripts like self-revelation, offence confession and behavioural change. These interactive responses were drawn from such counselling issues as relating, understanding and changing. Social, physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing, as well as life satisfaction are wellbeing components mined from PCI. This study emphasized some counselling issues with psychological insinuations which PCs, CPs and ICs construct in the discourse of prison counselling, their linguistic interactive responses and phonosyntactic implication on wellbeing

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