Advocating for the Outcasts: Challenges in Correctional Psychology.
Source: Cristian/Pexels, R. Mitchell, used with permission.
In an American Psychological Association (APA) article titled “Say It Again: Psychologists Can Never Engage in Torture,” Dr. James H. Bray noted, “The most recent policy statement The APA’s regulation on interrogation prohibits psychologists from working in detention settings where the U.S. Constitution is violated unless they are working directly for detainees or for an independent third party working to protect human rights. 2009).” Dr. Bray says he hopes the American people and the world judge all psychologists not by the few involved in this segment of our history, but by the many psychologists who spend their professional lives working for the public good. .
These excerpts stand out to demonstrate the seriousness of the accusation that psychologists have as defenders. I argue that there are subtle commonalities among military psychologists who did not comply with the APA code of conduct. ethics and some correctional psychologists who do not advocate for the basic needs of inmates.
As a psychological professional in a correctional setting, you often feel overwhelmed and powerless in your role as a physician. When he comes on board as a member of staff, he is immediately advised by security of the dangers of being manipulated by inmates, and with good reason.
However, a “safety first” mentality is established on the first day of admission to a correctional institution that can make it seem like your psychological experience will not be valued. While some may believe this perspective is necessary to maintain staff safety, and I agree to some extent, it does create challenges for mental health professionals, including treating the record, not the patient, according to the expectations of safety of patient care, adhere to the audit. targeted psychological services, and subscribing to an ineffective rehabilitation process.
Treatment of the graph
As a clinical psychologist, I believe it is essential to treat the patient with an unbiased therapeutic approach, regardless of the wrongdoing revealed, unless those disclosures violate ethics and warrant a breach of confidentiality. However, when they are reminded by security and staff of crimes inpatients have committed, remaining impartial becomes a challenge for some.
Over time, doctors become complacent by overlooking the basic needs of inmates (ie adequate housing, required caloric intake, supplementation with stronger medications, etc.). However, speculatively speaking, to be institutionalized in time or fear retribution (eg, pro-inmate labeling, employment discontinued, etc.), some physicians do not advocate for changes that effectively assist in the mental health treatment of inmates.
security perspective
The job of a correctional officer is no small thing. They work long hours and are often underpaid for the amount of responsibility they must bear. They are trained to be on the offensive because their safety and the safety of staff members depend on it. In fact, they are the glue that holds the correctional system together, and this article is not meant to disparage their sacrifice; its goal is to shed light on the challenges of corrections mental health units, which is a small system within a larger system.
In my opinion, policing in a mental health unit within a correctional facility should look different in a few ways:
- Officials working in mental health units must believe in the work of mental health professionals.
- Officers who wish to work in mental health units must receive initial and annual training from licensed mental health professionals.
- Officers who wish to work in mental health units must be willing to address inmate behavior issues differently from measures necessary to maintain the safety of the general population (i.e. de-escalation vs. use of force) .
Audit Based Psychological Services
Some correctional institutions have mental health units fueled by lawsuits filed by inmates who felt abandoned. These units follow guidelines based on court-ordered instructions that pass audits to support the recovery and discharge of mental health patients, at least in theory.
These procedures seem loosely associated with the ethical standards of psychologists today, often creating excessive policy-driven red tape that ensures legal requirements are met while neglecting the hours of patient care needed to create real change and rehabilitation. The paperwork required to maintain the appearance of a legal settlement is no more than a simple “check the box,” leaving mental health workers feeling drained and incarcerated patients feeling abandoned.
Patient Rehabilitation Challenges
Based on my experience working in an inpatient mental health unit, inmates enter the unit through an immediate crisis (ie self-injurious behavior, etc.). While in crisis, they are observed every day until safety is assured, as determined by a psychiatrist.
Inmates are then transferred to a crisis unit, where they are reviewed by a multidisciplinary team every 14 days until deemed appropriate for a lower level of care in a transitional unit. In the transition unit, they are reviewed every 30 days until they are deemed fit to transition to the general population. Throughout the treatment process, a mental health physician provides therapeutic services.
You probably think this all sounds great from a clinical perspective, and it is, when it works the way it was designed to work. But in practice, inmates are often withdrawn too soon from effective treatment, transferred to outside institutions without proper termination procedures, and placed back in the general population where traumas occurred, negatively reinforcing self-injurious behaviors that will gain acceptance to another cycle of mental health services.
treat the patient
What differentiates correctional psychologists from psychologists who helped mistreat military prisoners? As a human rights defender, he would say that they differ in intent, but the ethical component of “do no harm” remains the same. By doing no harm, we must treat the patient, not the history.
It is not the position of a psychologist to judge patients or create unsafe environments where trust is not at the forefront of the therapeutic relationship in any setting. A psychologist must advocate when policies are not consistent with patient care and advocate humane treatment for all. I hope that this article inspires and assists in the necessary changes in the psychological services provided to prisoners.
