The Application of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Within a Prison Setting

Felson, R. B., Silver, E., & Remster, B. (2012). Mental disorder and offending in prison. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 39(2), 125-143.

Everyday correctional officials work to deal with mental health inmates. Often hotly debated, many search for ways to work with this growing population. Glaze and Bonczar (2009) estimate around 2.3 million people are incarcerated within the US and of those, 20 percent suffer from some form of mental disorder. Even with such a high number, the rate of mental illnesses within the prison system is on the climb. Many of these inmates will remain incarcerated and receive little to no treatment for their mental issues. This essay, will look at the practices associated when dealing with mental illness and discuss the strategies on dealing with this growing issue.

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

The purpose of this study is to determine whether psychoeducational group therapy will reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD among women who are incarcerated. By determining the best intervention methods to decrease symptoms of mental illness within this population, these women will be able to interact more positively with others within the prison environment, feel more in control, and possibly have a reduced chance of returning to prison after being released.

Women offenders are different from male offenders in many ways. Whether it be from the way women develop differently in the psychological aspect, or the services that are available specifically for them. Female offenders are more likely to be convicted of a drug or drug related crime, they are more likely to have a past with significant substance abuse, have a childhood or recent adult life that was abusive both physically and sexually, and female offenders are more likely to participate in group therapy because they are trying to gain the connectedness and sense of belong that they crave for in their life. Although there is significant proof showing that female offenders have problems that need treatment while incarcerated before going

Thousands of people are residing in United States prisons and jails, and they go untreated. The very institutions which confines offenders, creates people with mental illness and drug addictions disorders. Crime needs varying interventions targeting problem-specific areas due to numerous factors.

It has already been established that the prison population for female offenders is growing, but the complexity of the population is changing as well. Special populations make up the group of female offenders, specifically including middle-aged inmates, physically ill inmates, and of course mentally ill inmates (Lewis, 200). The pathology of these women vary, many struggle or previously struggled with substance abuse, psychosis,

Research has identified that prison based substance abuse treatment for offenders differs greatly for males and females. Female offenders tend to have numerous triggers for their substance abuse with the research showing female offenders being significantly disadvantaged compared with male offenders when entering treatment programs (Messina, Grella, Cartier, & Torres, 2010). The following essay will summarise research conducted on the topic of substance abuse treatments for incarcerated females, looking at the research conducted by Messina et al. (2010), and how this research fits in with the available literature, and the contribution it has made to the field of research on the topic.

Sykes (1958) described the pains of imprisonment for men as the deprivations of liberty, goods and services, heterosexual relationships, autonomy, and security. All these deprivations apply equally to female prisoners, and some may be more severe for women. Separation from one's family is an obvious example of this. Women may also suffer from receiving fewer leisure, work and educational opportunities and closer surveillance than men. Many have noted the corrections experience is significantly different for women than for men, because men and women are treated differently by the courts and corrections systems (Chesney-Lind & Pollock, 1995). It has been suggested that this differential treatment has to do with the nature of crimes committed by women and the role of many women as mothers. Unfortunately, our understanding of the role that sex and gender play in shaping prisoner culture and experience has been constrained by a lack of recent research. Although female offenders became the subjects of extensive research in the 1960s, studies examining their adjustment to imprisonment today have received minimal attention. Research continues to focus primarily on the effects of incarceration on male prisoners, suggesting that the female inmate remains a forgotten offender (MacKenzie, Robinson & Campbell, 1989; 1995). Those studies that have focused on the female inmate, however, have shown that the impact of imprisonment is more severe on women than on men, especially if they have family responsibilities (Durham 1994). Despite the growing number of long-term offenders in the United States, studies continue to focus primarily on the male long-term offender, with little emphasis being placed on females. Since few

In relation to female offenders it is imperative to note the gender-specific differences innate in an effective rehabilitation method directed for them. Many of the theories surrounding the best approach in this sense, is to place a higher regard on the women themselves. It is evident that women may have unique experiences and responsibilities in life, such as that of pregnancy and child birth, and that these warrant specific attention in regards to a clinical evaluation (Gideon & Sung, 2011). Also, as has already been discussed, females appear to be particularly partial, in a recidivism manner, to be effected by child abuse and domestic violence (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010). With these factors and the aforementioned statistical evidence, Andrew and Bonta have suggested the following as responsivity factors to focus on in the rehabilitation of female offenders; ‘women-only groups, individual sessions with a female helper, staff modelling of healthy relationships, creation of a community with a sense of connection, emphasis on safety, emphasis on connecting, mutual respect, building on strengths, emphasis on raising and exploring issues, and treatment within the least restrictive environment’ (Andrews & Bonta, 2010, p.

Miller (2003), uses the medical analogy of the ridiculousness of having an aspirin or a lobotomy as the only treatment options for headache relief, broken arm, or acute appendicitis (p. 189). Although comical, it identifies the importance of having a variety of treatment options for various ailments; more importantly for various types of criminals. Since criminal acts are committed by individual human and their reasoning’s vary, cognitive-behavioral treatment is an additional influential element to rehabilitation programs (Wilson & Petersilia, 2011). Previous studies reveal that cognitive-behavioral treatment’s internal thought process restructuring, coping skills, or problem-solving therapies to change external behaviors aid in reducing recidivism (Milkman,

Are women offenders more successfully rehabilitated when participating in a gender-response program versus a traditional-gender specific program?

While dedicated research on the subject of psychological damage as a result of imprisonment is surprisingly sparse there are a few articles that touch on the subject. Prison is a ripe case study for many Psychology scholars due to its inherently insular nature and varied subcultures. Researchers have noticed frightening trends among inmates such as increased aggression, impairment of executive functions, and increased development of psychosomatic disorders.

After inmates received treatment programs for a few months or years, inmates have the capabilities to address their root issues that led them to prison. In most cases, inmates do not have the self-confidence to revisiting their childhood as they cannot bear the intense pain. Inmates subconsciously suppress their inner child that is re-experiences the past abuse by abusing substances. For inmates to emotionally and mentally heal, they themselves have to support their inner child. Although prison is not an ideal setting for healing as it is a negative environment, with relaxation and meditation, inmates enhance their emotional and mental stability (Casarjian, 1995, p. 3). If inmates are not emotionally and mentally prepared, they most likely

The literature on gender differentiation suggests that women and men distinguish and take action to the world in dissimilar ways (Adamek & Dager, 2007) One dissimilarity may be that women personalize interactions and events. We have by now noted how relationships of female inmates with additional inmates and staff are likely to be more private and to have more emotional components than those of males. The officers also recommended that female inmates take the reality of imprisonment more "personally" than males. This response seems to happen in response to disciplinary hearings and to officers giving instructions and reprimands. Officers state that women "take things to heart" (Ott, 2006) more than do males, which is an additional way of saying that similar event impacts more harshly on the women. Women may not be capable of isolating themselves from the shock of stress in the way that most men