Background:

Previous studies show that mental ill health is common within institutions. The prison environment is a highly contributory factor. The working alliance has proven to be a profi-cient tool used to reduce mental ill health. Clients are requesting relationships from prison officers but little research has been done on the elements that create alliances.

Aim:

To illuminate the perceived circumstances needed to create a working alliance to clients with mental ill health within institutions from a prison officers’ perspective.

Method:

An empirical qualitative study was conducted with narrative character. Ten interviews were conducted with prison officers. The interviews were transcribed and then analyzed with con-tent analysis. Manifest and latent content was interpreted during analysis. The result of the analysis was summarized in five different themes.

Results:

The themes were; "cooperation", "introspection", "respect", "opportunities and obstacles" and "everyday encounters". Each theme included various sub-themes to further describe various phenomenon. These themes describe the different unique elements that are experienced by prison officers in order to create alliances with clients.

Conclusion:

By applying these themes in the work routine correctional officers experi-enced a working alliance. But further research would be needed as this study did not include a prison with female clients and also through observational studies for more precise expressions of the different phenomena. This study may contribute to a greater understanding of caring in prisons, and that mental ill health will be reduced