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The importance of narrative as a central mode of occupational therapy reasoning for was proposed by Mattingley in 1991, when she asserted that 'Therapists ... help create a therapeutic story' (p98). This process is described by the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) as 'creating a conceptualisation of the client' (Kielhofner 2008, p149), enabling individuals to recraft their occupational narratives. It can be particularly important in prison services, where displaying an interest in prisoners' lives represents an important step in building a relationship that fosters desistence from crime (Rex 1999). When occupational therapists struggle to share their professional reasoning (Parkinson et al 2011), it is little wonder that prisoners fail to recognise the liberating potential of occupation. For this reason, an occupational therapy service in a Scottish prison introduced case formulations that tell short stories; starting with where each person has come from (occupational identity), and where they are now (occupational competence), and providing compelling evidence for the way ahead. The positive impact of creating occupational case formulations based on the MOHO concepts of identity and competence has already been evaluated in adult mental health services (Parkinson et al 2011, 2015). A service user satisfaction survey indicated that services consistently producing case formulations were associated with better outcomes linked to community integration. An ongoing evaluation of prisoners' goal attainment shows that prisoners appreciate the way occupational case formulations capture their circumstances and concerns, and anecdotal feedback suggests that case formulation provides an effective tool for combatting their occupational alienation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]