Mental Illness in the Correctional System

Mental Illness in the Correctional System

A person’s state of mind varies from one to the next. Currently, mental health awareness has been spread across societies worldwide. This applies to non-offenders in societies and those incarcerated. In some cases, offenders have mental illnesses, and according to Salisbury & Voorhis (2016), the number of mentally ill offenders serving time has been on the increase, with cases ranging from severe to moderate illnesses. This factor has created challenges for correction institutions or systems. Accordingly, care has been provided to the prisons and jails to cater to such offenders in several ways, such as through treatments and interventions. These approaches affect the offender’s state of mind and represent a correctional institution’s end result, such as recidivism and suicide. Consistently, it is vital to illustrate the role of staff knowledge and diagnosis and assessment of offenders with mental illnesses. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you.

The Role of Assessment and Diagnosis

Numerous mental illnesses are documented in the DSM-5, a diagnosis manual for mental health, including psychotic and mood disorders, among others. This manual stipulates the many categories of mental illnesses and provides background information on the same. Several diagnoses occur, and different symptoms can be relayed by people under the same category. Accordingly, the role of diagnosis, in this case, is to spread awareness on the same by indicating which offender has which mental illness.

Many factors contribute to mental illness, such as substance abuse and numerous types of special needs. An offender may pose a danger to others or be susceptible to victimization, affecting their placement in the correctional system and their transitions from correctional facilities to communities (Nicholls et al., 2018). Thus, the assessment and diagnosis of offenders are vital. Assessments are carried out by mental health professionals involving extensive evaluation of offenders (Nicholls et al., 2018); the outcome of an assessment is mental services referrals and the development of treatment plans. Following an assessment, a diagnosis is given, and the care level required, treatment plans, and care programs are established (Nicholls et al., 2018).

Assessments have numerous roles in correctional institutions. First, an offender might minimize their symptoms, making it difficult for people to detect their mental health status. In such a case, an assessment will allow the mental health professional to detect the downplayed symptoms to obtain a diagnosis of the offender. Second, during incarcerations, assessments may be needed in case of a turn of events that may affect the offender mentally, such as the withdrawal of family backing. Third, assessments and diagnosis prevent mislabeling, which is a form of wrong diagnosis (Salisbury & Voorhis, 2016), leading to unforeseen circumstances as the symptoms vary with category. For example, mislabeling can lead to wrongful placement, affecting the offender and the correctional staff they may interact with.

The Role of Correctional Staff

Correctional staff, such as probation officers, are vital in identifying mental illness cases among offenders. Based on their interactions with the offenders, it is easy for them to identify any symptoms and then pass their observations to other professionals if needed. Subsequently, it is vital for correctional staff to undergo training on mental health or special needs to enable their identification of evident symptoms (Salisbury & Voorhis, 2016). Passing relevant information pertaining to offenders to other correctional professionals initiates the assessment and diagnosis. Therefore, the role of correctional staff in having knowledge of the mental illness, diagnosis, and assessment of offenders involves observation and communication. In this case, the parties involved include the offenders, correctional staff, and mental health professionals. The offenders and correctional staff interact, and the correctional staff observes the offender. Later, the correctional staff relays the observations to a mental health professional to aid in assessments. Accordingly, knowledge of the mental illness, diagnosis, and assessment of offenders will aid in this interaction and flow of information.

The role of correctional staff in having knowledge of the mental illness, diagnosis, and assessment of offenders is illustrated during the observation of offenders. Having knowledge promotes clarity on observations, preventing the reporting of assumptions and behavior interpretations (Salisbury & Voorhis, 2016), but that of the real behavior observed. This makes the reported observations reliable as they do not possess any external factors. Additionally, additional information concerning the offender being observed over the course of time can also be recorded, narrowing down the offender’s symptoms.

Further, the correctional staff’s role is illustrated in communication with mental health practitioners. The wording used while reporting observations is vital to give detailed and precise observations. Word omissions or assumptions make observations unreliable, and stating what is seen rather than what was not seen is also more reliable. For instance, stating an offender was not seated instead of stating they were standing and pacing nervously gives two different messages. Thus, if a correctional staff possesses knowledge of a mental illness, diagnosis, and assessment, they will have information on the numerous categories of mental illnesses, allowing them to be keen during observations and convey all necessary information to mental health professionals.

In conclusion, mental health is a vast and wide topic as it affects any individual without prejudice. There are offenders and non-offenders who have mental illnesses, and as for the offenders, providing care for them falls into the hands of the correctional system. The correctional system provides correctional staff, such as probation officers and mental health professionals, to assess, diagnose, and provide treatment plans for the ailing offender. Consistently, any correctional staff interacting with an ailing offender must know about mental illnesses to report any behavior observed. Assessment and diagnosis are also important in establishing the state of mind of an offender and affect their placement and interactions with others.

References

Nicholls, T. L., Butler, A., Kendrick-Koch, L., Brink, J., Jones, R., & Simpson, A. I. (2018). Assessing and treating offenders with mental illness. The Practice of Correctional Psychology, 9–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00452-1_2

Salisbury, E. J., & Voorhis, V. P. (2016). Correctional Counseling and Rehabilitation (9th ed.). Routledge.

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Evaluate the role of assessment and diagnosis of offenders with mental illness. Examine the role of correctional staff having knowledge of mental illness, diagnosis, and assessment of offenders.

Correctional Counseling and Rehabilitation ISBN.13: 978-1-138-95167-9