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Psychological effects on people in prison
Psychology in prisons
Psychological effects on people in prison
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In the psychological community, many psychologist support and agree that rehabilitation should once again become the main focus of the prison system. The clinical issue is that a lot of inmates have some type of mental illness such as psychotic illness, antisocial behavior, depression and much more. While in prison, many inmates do not get a chance to receive the necessary care and treatment that they need in order to help them with their disorder. Once they are released from prison, these inmates, without any help from any type of programs, end up committing crimes again which helps to increase recidivism rates. This newspaper article relates to forensic psychology because in this prison it is enacting many programs which psychologists are
trying to get in established through the State and Federal prison system. Another reason why this is an important psychological issue is that inmates have trouble readjusting to life outside of prison, such as knowing what is consider to be pro-social behavior, how to use social skills to work out problems which could be learn through group therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy.
When envisioning a prison, one often conceptualizes a grisly scene of hardened rapists and murderers wandering aimlessly down the darkened halls of Alcatraz, as opposed to a pleasant facility catering to the needs of troubled souls. Prisons have long been a source of punishment for inmates in America and the debate continues as to whether or not an overhaul of the US prison system should occur. Such an overhaul would readjust the focuses of prison to rehabilitation and incarceration of inmates instead of the current focuses of punishment and incarceration. Altering the goal of the entire state and federal prison system for the purpose of rehabilitation is an unrealistic objective, however. Rehabilitation should not be the main purpose of prison because there are outlying factors that negatively affect the success of rehabilitation programs and such programs would be too costly for prisons currently struggling to accommodate additional inmate needs.
Having the study formulated after a prison environment presents a disturbing view on the effects it has on the individuals living in these conditions. As the study demonstrated both groups take on an alternate persona based on the roles assigned to them and the level of authority given to each. Today the same effect can be seen outside the prison environment, businesses experience this phenomenon as well. Managers are figures of authority within company and based on the type of management they exude, subordinates experience at different points some level of dominance over them. The results of the study are extremely valuable especially for the corrections industry, in recent years’ prisons have employed medical professionals that help inmates with psychological traumas and are able to utilize different outlets such as classes and work related activities within the corrections facility as a means to eliminate the negative effects on its
This essay intends to address the role that state agencies, both within the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and more broadly the institutions of education, employment and health, play in supporting and implementing diversionary programs for offenders with mental health problems. Mental health is clearly one of the most critical issues facing the Australian and New South Wales (NSW) CJS with research indicating that offenders with mental health problems constitute the majority of those within the prison system. The current strategies for diversion will be critically evaluated in order to determine their effectiveness with regard to the delivery and production of justice, cultural sensitivity for Indigenous Australians will also be considered. The social construction of mental illness and the associated process of stigmatisation of this particular group will be explored in conjunction to explain why society still fails to prevent the mass entry of people with mental health issues into the traditional CJS.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, African Americans are more likely to be incarcerated compared to any other major ethnic groups (2010). One of the crucial problems or challenges experienced within prison is the need to provide appropriate mental health treatment services for the applicable diagnosis (U.S. Department of Justice 2011). However, these diagnoses are often skewed or directly influenced by race or an inmate’s racial background forming stigmas toward seeking out treatment among the other inmates. Stigma and race correlated with mental health diagnosis in a penitentiary or correctional facility continues to be a prevalent or widespread obstacle that leads to negative attitudes about mental treatment and ultimately deterring individuals who need services from seeking medical or psychiatric care.
The current prison and criminal justice system has not proven to be helpful in rehabilitating offenders and preventing recidivism. To successfully alter this situation it is important to understand what steps and measures are available to assist those who find themselves imprisoned. The techniques used in cognitive behavioral therapy have proven to be effective in treating depression, anxiety and drug addictions among other things. Analyzing the techniques developed in cognitive behavioral theory and applying them to psychotherapy in prison environments can assist in making improvements in the prevention of criminal activity, rates of incarceration and safety and security of the general population. The literature shows that the use of cognitive behavioral therapy has been effective in the treatment of a variety of criminal offenders.
Criminal Justice officials understand the situation in their prisons regarding mental health but have not taken action to fix it. For example, “According to the Department of Justice, abo...
In the essay "Prison "Reform" in America," Roger T. Pray points out the much attention that has been devoted to research to help prevent crimes. Showing criminals the errors of their ways not by brutal punishment, but by locking them up in the attempt to reform them. Robert Pray, who is a prison psychologist, is currently a researcher with the Utah Dept. of Corrections. He has seen what has become of our prison system and easily shows us that there is really no such thing as "Prison Reform"
American Psychological Association (1994). Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Divorce Proceedings. American Psychologist, 47, 1597-1611.
Most people, if asked would surely agree that being a police officer is not easy, but most probably do not realize that becoming one is just as difficult. During our field trip to the Warren County Police Department Major Bowles and officer Fields talked a little about the extensive process, similar to the process our textbook, Forensic Psychology describes, of being hired into the police department. After putting in their application and being selected to move forward in the program a future police officer must have a background check, complete a psychological screening, a polygraph test, several interviews, and a physical test. If they pass each of those they continue on to the police academy. In whole, the process takes over a year before
Problems with crime have always been a concern to society. There are many different ideas about what causes it and even more ideas about how to stop it. Dr. Karl Menninger believes that our current prison system is not adequately addressing the motivation behind crime. In his article "Therapy, Not Punishment", Menninger says of the old prison system, "In its place should go a quiet, dignified, therapeutic programÉ" (544). He sets forth the claim of policy that criminals need to be treated with professional therapy. I don't think an introduction could be more clear than this.
Forensic Psychology, which is occasionally referred to as Legal Psychology, originally made its debut in the late 1800’s. A Harvard Professor, Professor Munsterberg, introduced the idea of psychology and law with his book, On the Witness Stand in 1908. Since the inception of the idea of psychology and law there have been proponents, as well as though that have spoken against the theories proposed by Munsterberg’s, along with other scientists, theorists, and psychologists that believed that Forensic Psychology had no standing to be linked to topics of law. This literature review will attempt to identify scholarly articles that trace the origins and the movement that led to Forensics Psychology becoming a specialty within the field of psychology. I will also attempt to explain What is Forensic Psychology as well as the part it plays within the legal system.
The criminal justice system plays a major part within our community. Every aspect of the criminal justice system affects the community and the population. Within our jails and prison 20% of the U.S population is currently being held in a prison or jail. Within that 20% percent a lot of these people are diagnosed with a mental illness. The increase of people in the system and the increase of reported mentally ill person is very alarming and important to discuss and find solutions for. With increase of mentally ill individuals increasing the level of training for officers is not at the same right. Most prisons or jail don’t have a specific way to handle nor treat individuals with a mental illness. This paper will discuss recent research regarding mental illness is, the impacts of mental illness, the impact of the criminal justice system, and how the system handles these individuals.
However, as the author focuses, the major reason is to make the criminals understand the worth of the adaptability in a social system that has been harmed by the actions of the criminals. The author does not agree that the open prison system is working well in Denmark. After exploring this source in detail, it can be said that the gang fights that have been exemplified in the support of Nielsen’s argument are more frequently present in the American prison systems. The basic purpose of the Danish prison system is to make the criminals understand the worth of the social life that they would miss by continuing over the path of the crime (Nielsen 137). This is the base of the theory of rehabilitation and cannot be judged by the interviews from only two inmates, which was the major issue in this
Criminal Investigative Psychology is the area in Forensic Psychology that is least likely to be acknowledged. The majority of people see this as merely a criminal justice area of expertise. In actuality, this area is strongly associated with how the human mind works. Psychologists can apply their knowledge of human motivation and behavior to areas in the criminal-investigative arena.
According to research, 64% of inmates have some type of mental health issue while they are incarcerated (www.prisonpolicy.org).Without someone to help solve mental health issues in prisons, how would inmates be able to be incorporated back into society? Forensic psychiatry is a type of study that involves mental health and legal procedures. Forensic psychiatry is a career that involves extensive education and results in a challenging job that would not prove to be dull or mundane. Determining whether or not forensic psychiatry is the right career choice involves considering the duties, education it would take and the salary desired.