Mental Illness And Mental Health

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration among the developed countries, with 2.2 million currently in jails and prisons. The number of inmates with mental disorders has been increasing during the past three decades, most likely the result of the deinstitutionalization of the state mental health system. Correctional institutions have become the de facto state mental hospitals. There are more seriously and persistently mentally ill people in prisons than in all state hospitals in the United States. When incarcerated these people face many disadvantages on top of their sickness. They do not receive the psychiatric help they need, nor do they receive proper medication or therapy. In addition, the guards do not know how to properly deal with people with mental disabilities. With so many issues in the criminal justice system there is no room for improvement for these inmates.

Another major factor is the lack of medical services in the prisons and jails. Many of the mentally ill are retained in the criminal justice system without the appropriate treatment needed because of the lack of trained staff in the mental illness field (Markowitz, 2011). There is usually limited access to treatment programs while incarcerated and a high risk of decomposition and deterioration (Rock, 2001). In a Frontline documentary on mental illness researchers estimated that about two thirds of the inmates in state facilities who did receive counseling or psychotropic drugs did not necessarily specialize in providing mental health services; leaving us to believe when the adequate treatment is being distributed is it being properly

Harrison and Nadeau (2007) discusses how jails and prisons has been the last place for an individual with serve mental illness, which leads to substance abuse and repeat offenders in the criminal justice system. Harrison and Nadeau (2007) compares a sample of inmates with no medical history on repeat

Given the number of incarcerated inmates who suffer from some form of mental illness, there are growing concerns and questions in the medical field about treatment of the mentally ill in the prison system. When a person with a mental illness commits a crime or break the law, they are immediately taken to jail or sent off to prison instead of being evaluated and placed in a hospital or other mental health facility. “I have always wondered if the number of mentally ill inmates increased since deinstitutionalization” Since prison main focus is on the crimes inmates are incarcerated; the actual treatment needed for the mentally ill is secondary. Mentally ill prisoners on the surface may appear to be just difficult inmates depending on the

The prison educational and mental health programs were cut, along with the implementation of the Act, and budge cuts. Through the lack of education, mental health programs and job skill programs makes it more difficult for the offender to reenter into the community and become gainfully employed in order to survive the “real” world. Mr. Patrick (2015) reminded the forum that “The Iron Law of Corrections is that most people come home.” Patrick continued, “What do we want for people when they come home? We want them to get a job and earn a living wage, support their families, be better parents, and be better neighbors” (Patrick,

Care and treatment for the Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO) has always reflected society’s intolerance and punitive attitude, typified by a desire to remove persons with mental illness from public sight (Gostin, 1983). Traditionally, health care for this population was provided in institutions until the 1950s. De-institutionalisation and large-scale closures of psychiatric institutes in the 1980s resulted from therapeutic advancement and the advent of psychotropic medication, which in turn led to a need to provide care and treatment in the least restrictive setting (Geller et al, 2006 ; Morrow e al 2003). Many patients were discharged,

There are more reasons why its hard for recently released prisoners to find a job including the stigma that goes along with being a convicted offender. “There are several reasons why incarceration reduces the employability and subsequent earning potential of released inmates. First, the stigma attached to incarceration makes it difficult for ex-prisoners to be hired. Employers are reluctant to hire individuals with a criminal record, because it signals that they may not be trustworthy. A survey of employers in five major cities across the country revealed that two-thirds of all employers

This withholding of mental health treatment on the basis of the type of crime one has committed supports the hypothesis that prisons tend to prioritize punishment at the cost of denying mental ill prisoners the necessary rehabilitative mental health resources. The upsetting truth is that failure to properly treat mentally ill prisoners does not appear to be a matter of lacking mental health resources, but instead a refusal to use them.

But the people that do not have that opportunity are offered little help in finding somewhere to live. Employment is also an issue faced. Many places do not want to hire someone that has been in prison before. Also, the level of education that the person has is a contributing factor to employers saying no to ex-prisoners. Often times background checks are initiated with the application process of a job and when someone tells them that they have been convicted of a crime the employer is a little more hesitant on hiring this person. But on the other end, only about 62 percent of potential employers would not consider hiring ex-inamtes, only 32 percent reported using background checks on a consistent basis. 38 percent of the potential employers would consider hiring ex-inmates (Police Operations).

In the early 1950’s and 60’s, there were a great number of mental facilities in operation and the number of mentally ill locked in prisons was not as bad as it is today. We as a society seemed to gone in reverse and returned to the practice of locking up the mentally ill up in prison while closing mental facilities over the years. Mental health services have been crippled by the shutting down of mental health facilities and reliance on health care insurance to address the needs of those who require treatments necessary in order to enable them to function in society. Whether this is reflective of a change in society as to how the mentally ill should be treated or strictly a result of drained funding remains to be seen. Currently many correctional facilities are working tirelessly with the community in bridging the gaps, and making treatment a priority in an attempt to minimize the number of mentally ill patients from coming to

With the termination of state psychiatric hospitals and the decline in funding for mental health benefits, many individuals with severe mental illnesses are entangled in the criminal justice system. Moreover, the country's jails and prisons have become hospitals for people with mental illnesses, many of whom also battle with substance abuse. There is a crucial need to repair a defective system. The criminal justice system must address the mass incarceration and impede public expenses that do not generate beneficial results in terms of providing valuable services and keeping extremely mentally ill persons out of the countries prisons and jails. Concentrating on this inadequacy will require the state and county policymakers to join forces; developing

In reviewing mental illness in corrections, issues arise regarding the number of affected person’s receiving treatment in correctional settings and the care being provided. As the shift of treatment of the mentally ill moved from mental hospitals and institutions to community treatment facilities and correctional institutions, a marked increase of mentally ill offenders entered the correctional system. Advocates for the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill believed that the move would create a more independent lifestyle for the mentally ill while providing local access to treatment provided by community-based programs. (Health Affairs)

The United States criminal justice system has been continuously increasing incarceration among individuals who suffer from a sever mental illness. As of 2007 individuals with severe mental illness were over twice as likely to be found in prisons than in society (National Commission of Correctional Health Care, 2002, as cited in Litschge &Vaughn, 2009). The offenses that lead to their commitment in a criminal facility, in the majority of cases, derive from symptoms of their mental illness instead of deviant behavior. Our criminal justice system is failing those who would benefit more from the care of a psychiatric rehabilitation facility or psychiatric hospital by placing them in correctional facilities or prisons.

The United States has the largest prison population in the world, with over two million people in prisons or jails across the country as of August 2016 (Morrissey, Domino, & Cuddeback, 2016). This number represents a 500% increase over the past three decades (Morrissey, et al.). Many individuals who are incarcerated suffer from at least one mental health or substance abuse disorder, with many having two or more co-occurring disorders. Mental health services in the correctional system have not kept pace with the rapid rise in the numbers of individuals who are incarcerated and in need of treatment in the U.S. Budget cuts and staff shortages have caused a lack of adequate mental health services and treatment throughout the correctional department. Additionally, the rise of for-profit prisons has created a situation where the rehabilitation of offenders is often

There has been an concern with mental health professionals about the increasing number of mentally disordered inmates in jails and prisons. There are approximately 356,000 inmates in jails and state prisons with mental illnesses (Torrey, Zdanowicz, & Kennard, 2014). Many researchers are debating if mentally disordered inmates should be treated in prisons and jails, or if they are not equipped to care for them at all. While jails tend to house inmates sentenced with short terms, prisons house convicted and sentenced offenders serving more than 1 year. With the longer time of incarceration, prisons provide more of an opportunity for inmates to receive mental health assessments, diagnosis, and treatment (James & Glaze, 2006). It is crucial