Essay On Mental Illness In The United States

“Timeline: Treatments for Mental Illness” notes the history of mental illness; before the 1840s, being mentally ill was considered to be a form of religious punishment and demonic punishment by many cultures. In 1407 the first European establishment for mentally ill was established in Valencia, Spain. As time progressed it was shown that Europeans began to increasingly isolate the mentally ill; treated inhumanly, often kept chained to walls in dungeons. In the late 1700s some changes were made as concerns for the mentally ill people’s well being grew. After the French revolution Phillippe Pinel, a French physician, took over the Bicêtre insane asylum, forbidding the use of chains and shackles. He provided the mentally ill with better living conditions, sunny rooms and the ability to roam around the grounds. Though some things have improved, mistreatment in other asylums persisted. In

Authors in this article from the University of California observe and focus on the risks and rates involved in people that have a mental disorder and correlate it with incarceration as well as people with re-incarceration. While performing these studies researchers found an alarming number of people incarcerated had a severe mental illness and substance abuse issues. Much of the knowledge in numbers of people with a mental illness are brought from a correctional view, but researchers here try to also focus on numbers of people in the public mental health system as well.

Despite the fact that my parents have worked in the criminal justice system for many years, I have never given much thought to the treatment of prisoners. As we learned from the readings, the current state of the United States criminal justice system is imperfect to the point of cruelty to those involved in it. This is truer for individuals with a mental illness. Due to a lack of psychiatric facilities throughout Alabama and overcrowding of those that do exist, many criminal offenders with mental illnesses are sent to prisons instead. State prisons are currently overcrowded, leading to substandard conditions such in almost every aspect.

The prevalence of individuals with severe mental illness entering the criminal justice system creates a social injustice and substantial cost. People with mental illness cycle thorough courtrooms, jails, and prisons, generating a concern among policy-makers, criminal administrators, practitioners, families, and advocates. These facilities lack the ability to provide adequate treatment and results in a damaging cycle. In 2000, The United States Congress responded to these individuals by authorizing Policy Law 106-515 or mental health court; combining court supervision and community-based treatment services for individuals with mental illness. Policy Law 106-515 is a therapeutic court approach which seeks to provide effective treatment and eliminate

Introduction: First the mentally ill were abandoned to the streets to join the ranks of the homeless population and to our jails. The continuous withdrawal of mental health funding has become all too familiar throughout America. Jails and prisons across the nation have turned into default mental health facilities. A system that was originally designed for security and rehabilitation is now trapped with treating the mentally ill who have nowhere else to go and eventually end up being cycled in and out of prison. This never ending cycle has led to a very sad but true reality that America’s jails and prisons have become our new mental hospitals. Mental hospitals that cannot and do not provide

In the United States, over the past 200 years, the practice of federal and state governmental treatment and geographical disposition of the seriously mentally ill has seemed cyclical. Essentially, persons with serious mental illness went from community-living to incarceration to hospitalization to community-living and finally back to incarceration (Matjekowski, Draine, Solomon & Salzer, 2011, Ostermann & Matjekowski, 2014 & Raphael & Stoll, 2013). Currently, the United States has a federal mandate that all incarcerated persons with mental illness have access to at least basic mental health care. However, there is no such policy for these same persons once discharged (Aufderheide & Brown, 2005, Coffey, 2012 & Maloney, Ward & Jackson, 2003). The following provides an overview of the process of institutionalization of adults with serious mental illness, a description of the population, the current treatments available, and the current concern surrounding the lack of adequate discharge planning for incarcerated adults with serious mental illness.

Insane Justice Mental illness and criminal behavior have been linked for centuries. Since the de-institutionalization movement in the United States, the outbreak in the prison population throughout the country has increased, resulting to prisons becoming America’s new mental asylums. Mentally ill individuals are more likely to encounter police than medical help and as a result, 2 million people with mental illness are booked into jails each year. Nearly 15% of men and 30% of women booked into jails have a serious mental health condition (NAMI, 2007, p. 1). Incarcerating mentally ill inmates is cost worthy as well creates behavioral issues.

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

Out of the 2 millions individuals in American prisons, mental disorder affects more than 200,000 prisoners, yet it is an issue that has been ignored by the federal government and the public. Little attention has been brought to the topic of prisons and its prisoner, until the past few years, with the release of the shows “Making of a Murderer” and “Orange Is the New Black”, which both focus on life behind bars. The media has started to cover many of the injustices that occur behind the prison walls. However, while the American public has become more aware of the cruelty prisoners, especially those with mental illness face there is still little being done. The treatment of mentally ill prisoners is inhumane and better programs should be put in place in prisons in order to improve their medical and mental treatment and protect them from further abuse.

Imagine living in a place where you were sent to be aided on a disability and it turns out to be a nightmare. A nightmare where you are living in poor conditions, abused by a corrupt staff, and performed dangerous operations on without your permission. Even though many of us don 't experience this, this is a cold hearted reality for the mentally ill. Not only were the mentally ill treated horrible in these “institutions” back then, but outside they weren 't treated any better. In this research paper I am going to look into the treatment of the mentally ill in the mid-1800s to mid-1900s.

Over the past 30 years, psychiatric illness experiences and the treatment of the mentally ill have become entrapped within correctional institutions rather than in psychiatric hospitals (Applebaum 2010; Waldram 1997,). In the 1970s, a decision was made by the The Community Mental Health Act to close state-run mental health institutions. It was expected that funds from the states would be redirected to individual communities to tend to the needs of people with mental health issues. This plan did not go through and as a result, many people suffering with mental health found themselves involved with the criminal justice system. Every year, 2 million people with mental illnesses face incarceration in prisons and jails. Almost 15% of men and 30% of women in jails have a serious mental health condition. In

The penal system has been no help in alleviating the stigma attached to mental illness, routinely and historically treating mentally unstable inmates with just the same harsh approach as their criminally insane counterparts. Indeed, the distinction between these two populations is significant; however, authorities have long been reluctant to entertain such a concept. Similar to the treatment availed to them in institutions, mentally ill inmates have a history of being shackled, beaten and deprived of the most basic human needs. One might readily argue how state and federal penitentiaries exist for one reason and one reason only: to lock up the criminal and throw away the key. The conspicuous absence of rehabilitation programs speaks to

“In the aftermath of the 2008 recession, states were forced to cut over $4 billion in public mental health funding. With funding in free-fall, jails, prisons and nursing homes became the de facto places to warehouse people with serious mental illnesses.” This is not the place where mentally ill people should be, they need to be in places that specialize in helping them. Many police are not trained in how to recognize mentally ill signs, and they end up responding inappropriately. “The number of people with serious mental illnesses who are incarcerated or homeless is three to five times higher than in the general population. There is a wide range of empirical evidence that shows, with appropriate treatment and community supports, people can recover, achieve their goals, and contribute to our society.” “People with mental illnesses have unique needs, and their overrepresentation in jail, prison, and other ill-equipped settings is a national tragedy. The toll it takes on them, their families, and our nation’s commitment to fair treatment for all is immeasurable.” To help the mentally ill and the families of them, we need to have more funding going towards institutions to get them the proper care to be

In the early and mid 1900’s the U.S went through a period know as deinstitutionalization, where patients in mental facilities were reintroduced into society. This action was sparked by the introduction of antipsychotic drugs and the lack of funding to house and maintain mentally ill patients. This was to help not only the financial restraints of the government but to help each of the patients within the facilities by giving them the ability to live a fulfilling life without confinement. In the last few decades changes in the United States judicial system such as mandatory prison sen¬tences, longer prison terms, and more restrictive release policies have lead to an exponential increase in the number of inmates located within the jails and