Post Incarceration Syndrome (PICS)

Hawthorne, W. B., Folsom, D. P., Sommerfeld, D. H., Lanouette, N. M., Lewis, M., Aarons, G. A., Jeste, D. V. (2012). Incarceration among adults who are in the public mental health system: Rates, risk factors, and short-term outcomes. Psychiatric Services, 63(1), 26-32. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201000505

This paper explores the topic of mental health within prisons and how it affects the inmates. The report of my findings were through research of twelve articles, two credible website sources, and a published textbook.

The way the criminal justice system should handle crimes has always been a debated subject. For over the last forty years, ever since the war on drugs, there are more policies made to be “tough on crime”. From then, correctional systems have grown and as people are doing more crimes, there are plenty of punishments for them. In the mid 1970’s, rehabilitation was the main concern for the criminal justice system. It was common that when someone was convicted of a crime, they would be sentenced to prison but there would also be diagnosed treatments to help them as well. Most likely, they would have committed a crime due to psychological problems. When they receive treatment in prison, they can be healed and would not go back to their wrong lifestyle they had lived before. As years have gone by, people thought that it was better to take a more punitive stance in the criminal justice system. As a result of the turnaround of this more punitive criminal justice system, the United States now has more than 2 million people in prisons or jails--the equivalent of one in every 142 U.S. residents--and another four to five million people on probation or parole. The U.S. has a higher percentage of the

What would the world look like if there were hardly any incarcerations or arrests? The author of the book “Addicted to Incarcerations” Travis Pratt explains using evidence, the consequences of being in a society where crime and nature go hand in hand. The reason why Americans are getting punished, from petty offenders to those guys you see on TV that get caught trying to rape little children or even women. In the book, Pratt uses real world experiences and put issues out in the open throughout each chapter, while also mentioning race and gender issues that serve as a key component of incarceration. The book forces us to look back on what members of a society have done in the past or what currently is being done and if we have taken life for

The guidelines for repairing harm requires that, to the best extent attainable, offenders take responsibility and take action to make things right with those individuals who were harmed (Bazemore & Maruna, 2009). Reentry and recidivism is unmistakably a test for all involved. In the course of recent decades, the United States has encountered imprisonment rates that have almost quintupled, with 1,610,584 prisoners currently incarcerated in state and

his paper examines multiple factors that help determine reasons for why there is such a great amount of people relapsing back into criminal behavior once released, which only leads them into a federal or state prison. Recidivism can be perceived into different category’s based upon the why factor. Criminal acts that result in rearrests, and reconviction or return to prison with or without new a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner’s release is considered recidivism. There are many different reasons why a person goes back into prison once being released, whether by choice or force or even just nature of habit. Many studies have been conducted to find a pattern or reason on why recidivism is so common. Available

According to the American Psychological Association, a 2014 article states, “Mental illness among today's inmates is also pervasive, with 64 percent of jail inmates, 54 percent of state prisoners and 45 percent of federal prisoners reporting mental health concerns” (Incarnation Nation). This statistic is appalling and should not be considered an acceptable number. More than half of jailers and prisoners report mental health concerns; this is static that should not be taken lightly and needs to be addressed. Mentally incarnated people and prison cells do not go well together; it creates a recipe for disaster for the individual suffering behind bars. The purpose of prison is to “retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation”

’’Research has consistently shown that prisoners are more likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders than the general population (Fazel and Seewald, 2012). Moreover, prisoners display higher levels of psychological problems, such as distress and depressive feelings (Zamble and Porporino, 1990; Schneider et al., 2011). These high prevalence rates have stimulated a wide interest into possible

There are many factors that would cause someone who lives with mental illness or substance abuse to return to prison. One of the causes on recidivism is the lack of health care. For someone who lives with a mental illness or have substance abuse problems the number one issue is not being able to get medicine or health care to help them achieve self-care. Without it, they are more likely to commit a crime to either support their habit or commit a crime because they are not fully aware of what they are doing. Many inmates who live with serious mental illness leave prisons without health insurance, which decreases their access to health care and therefore places them at risk of relapse and re-arrest (Wenzlow, Ireys, Mann Irvin, and Teich, 2011). Another reason is childhood trauma. There are plenty of prisoners that suffered childhood trauma, whether if it’s sexual abuse, physical abuse or neglect. These traumas can affect a child mentality until the child is an adult. Causing many mental problems including substance abuse or mental illness. According to Messina & Grella, this is the key connection between mental health and

Over the past thirty years, there has been a 500% increase in the U.S incarceration rate. (The Sentencing project, 2014) Advances in medicine, such as the discovery of psychoactive drugs, led to the deinstitutionalization of mentally ill patients from psychiatric hospitals. With a long record of horrific abuse,

I was not surprised to discover that half of all inmates had a mental illness (Hoke 3015). Hoke analyzes the social elements that make an impact on those persons with known mental illnesses in prison. Noting policy changes that have increased prison rates for mentally ill people, Hoke presents a good argument on how mentally ill inmates are treated within the criminal justice system. Her research seemed to be thorough and convincing. She maintains the idea that mentally ill inmates do need help making a successful transition upon release through steady employment and housing.

A range of behavioral rehabilitative mediations has been utilized to lessen recidivism among discharged detainees. These interventions incorporate multimodal programs that traverse imprisonment settings and groups generally alluded to as reentry projects and in addition solitary centered projects on things, for example, job preparing, instruction, substance misuse programs, sex guilty party treatment, intellectual behavioral preparation, and coaching (Washington State Institute on Public Policy, 2012). Meta-Analyses recommend that in spite of the fact that impact sizes of mediations may now and then seem unobtrusive, diminishments in reincarceration can be exceedingly significant. Investigations of intellectual, behavioral projects report somewhere

Some prisoners are plagued with Post Incarceration Syndrome, a combination of psychological problems. These problems are institutionalized and antisocial personality traits, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,

Adjusting to life after incarceration can be a very long and difficult process to overcome. There are many obstacles people face when returning home for the first time in years. Most people generally come home to nothing and have to try to make a life out of it. As an ex-con you face stigma, lack of opportunities and the constant risk of recidivism. Recidivism is the ongoing cycle of incarceration. You continue to be in and out of prison because you cannot successfully re-transition into society. This topic is worth investigating because recidivism is a current problem in the United States and it usually takes place because the justice system fails to prepare their inmates for what life will be like. Rehabilitation is key and because there is a lack of that there is a lack of success in offenders returning home. Young adults should be aware of recidivism because they can easily be sucked into the system and this can happen to them. They can find themselves in a position where they end up in prison and fall victim to recidivism. Questions that will guide this research include:

Advances in Psychology offer us a greater lens to study the tangible effects of incarceration on the brain and whether there are long-term side effects that could persist well after release. It is crucial to understand these negatives as the repercussions of ignorance could result in a severe rise in recidivism as well as permanent damage to the psyche of those sentenced to incarceration.