Verified Document

Prison Psychologists And Biases In Corrections Essay

Related Topics:

.....psychologists working in prisons in the United States, Boothby & Clements (2000) found some disturbing trends in corrections. Although the number of prison psychologists has doubled in the past twenty years, the vast majority of prison psychologists remain Caucasian males who may be unable to address the diverse needs of the incarcerated community. Biases and assumptions about inmates may also hinder the ability of inmates to seek and receive psychological treatment. Moreover, a full third of prison psychologist work time is spent on administrative duties -- more than the time spent on direct treatment. Only 26% of their work time is devoted to directly treating the inmates, meaning that structural and institutional variables are impeding the delivery of quality mental health care to the prison community.Interestingly, the profession of clinical psychology was practically born in the prison context. As Magaletta, et al. (2016) point out, prison wardens partnered with psychologists seeking training opportunities and subjects for experiments since the early 20th century. Prison psychologists have had at their disposal access to subjects for research into the endogenous and exogenous factors that may cause or contribute to criminal behavior. Prisoners have long been viewed as a relatively dispensable part of the human population and the lack of attention given to their treatment remains...

The psychological make-up of offenders, whose behavior may be symptomatic of underlying preexisting conditions ranging from mood disorders like anxiety and depression to personality disorders to psychoses, presents unique problems and challenges for prison administrators and correctional officers alike.
Because criminal behavior can be the means by which mental illness first becomes recognized, it makes sense that a large number of inmates do suffer from some type of diagnosable mental illness. Furthermore, offenders are more likely than non-offenders to be victims of crime, while victims of crime are also more likely than non-victims to be offenders: a pattern that has been noted throughout the literature (Entorf, 2013). Correctional officers lack the training and background in psychology to provide the daily support system for the inmates, which is why psychologists are the most frequently employed mental health professional in the correctional setting (Magaletta, et al., 2016). Yet because of the gaps in providing quality mental health care in prisons, the needs of the diverse inmate population are not being met. Not meeting the needs of this cohort may stymie attempts to lower rates of recidivism and promote genuine rehabilitation and community reintegration. Similarly, a more robust community-based psychological program may…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Corrections Gius, Mark. 1999 . The Economics of
Words: 5533 Length: 20 Document Type: Term Paper

Corrections Gius, Mark. (1999). The Economics of the Criminal Behavior of Young Adults: Estimation of an Economic Model of Crime with a Correction for Aggregate Market and Public Policy Variables. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. October 01. Retrieved November 07, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site. Mark Gius uses a combination of individual-level and county-level data to estimate an economic model of crime for young adults. This data is similar

Bias in Forensic Psychology
Words: 1335 Length: 4 Document Type: Reaction Paper

Forensic Psychology According to the American Psychological Association (2013), forensic psychology is the application of clinical specialties to the legal arena. Forensic psychology combines the practice of psychology and the practice of law. A professional working in this field will use their psychological expertise and apply it to the judicial system. The interest of the forensic psychologist is to understand why certain behaviors occur and to also assist in minimizing and

Gender-Specific Therapy for Women Prisoners Research Question
Words: 3099 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Proposal

Gender-Specific Therapy for Women Prisoners RESEARCH QUESTION AND JUSTIFICATION On average, women make up about 7% of the total federal and state incarcerated population in the United States. This has increased since the 1980s due to stricter and more severe laws that focus on recreational drug use, a lack of community programs, and fewer treatment centers available for outpatients (Zaitow and Thomas, eds., 2003). According to the National Women's Law Centers, women

Case Summary Analysis
Words: 1790 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Kennedy, aged 46, was traveling in a convoy when he was shot. He was in a limousine with an open top, passing the Book Depository of Texas School Building, in downtown Dallas at around 12:30 P.M. Kennedy's wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, the governor of Texas John Connally (1917-1993), and John's wife Nellie were riding with President Kennedy that day. John Connally also got shot and sustained serious injuries. Kennedy is said

Investigative Psychology
Words: 2959 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Psychology Analysis of the crime scene After Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced, he was taken to the Correctional Institution of Columbia, located in Portage; a town in Wisconsin. During his first incarceration year, Dahmer was confined separately in order to keep him physically safe in case he interacted with other prisoners. With his consent, when the first solitary confinement year was over, Dahmer was taken to a unit that was less secure. Here,

United States Has the Highest Rate of
Words: 13726 Length: 50 Document Type: Essay

United States has the highest rate of confinement of prisoners per 100,000 population than any other Western country. Analyze this phenomena and discuss actions that you feel are necessary to combat this problem. The United States currently has the highest incarceration rate of any nation worldwide. For example, greater than 60% of nations have incarceration rates below 150 per 100,000 people (Walmsley, 2003). The United States makes up just about

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now