People with Mental Health Conditions in Corrections

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States and its territories. The 988 Lifeline is comprised of a national network of over 200 local crisis centers, combining local care and resources with national standards and best practices.

NAMI is the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders. NIMH is one of the 27 Institutes and Centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest biomedical research agency in the world. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation and to improve the lives of individuals living with mental and substance use disorders and their families.

This research investigates the causal impact of jail mental health needs scores, assigned by clinicians, on youth and adult outcomes.

This brief outlines how jail administrators and staff can improve their responses to this population by implementing practices that focus on identification and provision of services: conducting standard screening and assessment for both, linking people to services through collaborative comprehensive case management, and assessing effectiveness through regular performance measurement tactics.

Using screening and assessment helps to accurately identify people in jail with behavioral health treatment needs.

Major depression is one of the most prevalent mental health problems in the penitentiary context and has been related to different undesirable outcomes. The aim of the current research was to evaluate the utility of screening tools for major depression brief assessment in the jail context.

A Prison Journalism Project contributing writer shares the experiences of mentally ill incarcerated patients, and the staff who oversee them.

Four analytic themes were identified that detail women’s experiences of prison-based mental health care: the type of services accessed and challenges encountered; a reduction in capacity to self-manage mental well-being; the erosion of privacy and dignity; and strained relationships with prison staff. There is a paucity of research conducted with women in the context of prison-based mental health care. The findings suggest there is a need for greater mental health support, including the need to enhance relationships between women and prison staff to promote positive mental health.

Research about the relationship between mental health and the criminal justice system available online.

People with mental illnesses are overrepresented in the U.S. prison population. It is well established that incarceration for this population poses physical and mental health risks including greater likelihood of victimization and suicide compared to the general prison population. Yet, research is less clear about how staff and services shape these prison experiences.

Chronic high stress, long and difficult shifts and elevated anxiety – these constant components of correctional officers’ jobs result in higher rates of PTSD than military veterans’, suicide rates twice as high as all other professions combined and increased risk of substance use among a population that dies young, researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale have discovered.

This page supports the objectives of the Correctional Officers Health and Safety Act of 1998, which requires that the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services provide guidelines for infectious disease prevention, detection, and treatment of inmates and correctional employees who face exposure to infectious diseases in correctional facilities.

Using a variety of new strategies, psychologists in correctional settings are transforming care for people in prisons and jails.

Why fostering mental wellness in correctional officers is paramount for a safer society.

According to a survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately one in four individuals in jail (26 percent) reported experiences that met the threshold for serious psychological distress, five times higher than the general population.

The role of a corrections officer is often seen as one of authority and responsibility, but behind the uniform lies a harsh reality of trauma, stress, and isolation.