Crisis Intervention Paper

Researchers and activists alike are concerned about the rate at which individuals with mental illness are incarcerated in the United States. Many consider that the increase in incarceration is a direct result of deinstitutionalization. In this essay, I will discuss how the solutions to the prevention of the incarceration of the mentally ill but ultimately lead to the common goal of improving the care of the mentally ill. This will be done by comparing and contrasting the key points of Knoll, Etter et al and Kincaid. The points discussed will be their views on the cause of mass incarceration, the way in which they approach solutions to the problem and the suggested role of law enforcement officers in this solution.

Thousands of mentally ill people flowing in and out of the nation 's jails and prisons. In many cases, it has placed the mentally ill right back where they started locked up in facilities, but these jail and prison facilities are ill-equipped to properly treat and help them. In 2006 the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that there were; 705,600 mentally ill inmates in state prisons, 78,000 in federal prisons, and

A therapist ONLY addressing an offender 's mental illness may be problematic because offenders have criminogenic needs that need to be treated in order to reduce criminal behavior. The Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) model of corrections and rehabilitation was designed by Andrews, Honta, and Hoge in 1990. This model has demonstrated the strongest research-support on its ability to explain and treat criminal behavior. Andrews and Bonta have shown that in order to produce a successful rehabilitation program, the program must "respect the individual, have a psychological theory basis, and should work in junction with the enhancement of preventative services". This model reveals the importance of going beyond ONLY addressing an offender 's mental illness and providing treatment relevant to

In our textbook we learned that around the 1960’s many intuitions were being broken up and a more community approach was being adopted. This was signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. This approach was implemented because of the predicted success of new anti-psychotic medications. This coupled with the often mistreatment of clients made for the push away from large intuitions (Trattner 1999). While this did benefit some individuals it did not for a majority of people. Many mentally ill individuals were left homeless after hospitals deinstitutionalized, making up one-third of the homeless population (D.E. Torrey). According to one study many people who are severely mentally ill are now treated during their incarceration in a correctional facility (D.E. Torrey). This is one trend

In the book Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen, one of the biggest focal points is mental illness. Mental illness can be tough to talk about, simply because the phrase “mental illness” encompasses such a wide range of conditions and conjures up images of deranged people, but it is very important, especially in this book. There is a certain stigma that people who are put into mental hospitals because they have medical problems or are insane and a possible danger to society. While this is sometimes true, it is far more common for patients to need help for a disorder, but just don’t know where to go or what to do, and can end up putting themselves or someone else in danger.

There are more people incarcerated who have a mental illness that there are in psychiatric hospitals. (Psychology Today). Mental Health America reports that “there are more than 1.2 million people currently residing in prisons and/or jails with a mental health condition and lack of access to mental health care”. (MHA). 40% of adults with a serious mental illness will be arrested at some point in their lifetime, usually for disturbing the peace or for a petty crime which are caused by their mental illness. (NAMI). If people with a mental illness receive counseling and/or treatment for their illness many arrests and crimes could be

There are so many mentally ill people in correctional facilities because most families do not know how to help their loves ones who suffer from a mental illness, so the call the police for help. Majority of the police officers do not know what to do or how to handle people with a mental illness disease. Police officers who are not trained to deal with the mentally ill often do not recognize that person is ill. Some police officers do not recognize if the individual should or not go to jail or a treatment center or medical facility. The impact of law enforcement and the judicial system dealing with people with a mental illness is to assist the inmates with the help they need. Also, the correctional facilities help inmates with mental illness

Today there are more mentally ill people in prisons and jails in the United States than any hospital or psych facility in this country. Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois is the largest mental health institution in the country. When a mentally ill person gets arrested for a violent crime they stay three to four times longer than a regular violent offender. “One third of those incarnated in cook county jail suffers from psychological disorders.” According to a 2006 Justice Department study, more than half of prisoners in the United States Suffer from some sort of mental health problem. The study also says that among female inmates one third of them have some type of mental disorder. In prisons and jails, prisoners sit in their cells majority

In 1999, a mental health court was established to therapeutically manage mentally ill people accused of a crime (King County TV, 2010). Unlike a conventional court system, a behavioral health court treats a mentally ill individual with more respect and understanding. According to King County TV (2010), mentally ill clients can propose to be placed in a mental health court system because it will allow them to have a chance to recover. However, when the client is not compliant with the plan of care given to them, he or she could be placed in jail if there is a possibility the

Mentally ill offenders comprise a huge segment of the country 's prison populace, bringing about various difficulties to correctional administrators who lack formal preparation or instruction on the best way to communicate, look after, and secure this specific populace (Pittaro, 2017). Correctional administrators confront a large group of difficulties with regards to mentally ill inmates. These particular inmates require more supervision and more care with respect to their prosperity in the correctional facility that they reside in. In most facility, the mentally ill prisoners are restricted to the minimum about of counseling services which may prompt troublesome practices. As indicated by an article written by Lloyd I. Sederer, M.D., "All patients have both a right to treatment and a right to refuse treatment (Sederer, n.d).” Despite the fact that being imprisoned can be difficult for the most advantageous individual, it 's harder for an individual diagnosed with an acute psychiatric illness. Correctional administrators have to battle with the idea of giving more supervision, specific mental care, and prescriptions that are not generally available to help with their conduct and other

They have become alienated by society, and are strangers to their friends and family. The psychological impact of incarcerating an innocent or undeserving individual can be detrimental. Post-victimization disorders such as post acute stress disorder and PTSD can cause emotional detachment, despair, hostility, and increased risk of various phobias (Polifroni, 2018). Unwarranted subjectivity to extreme punishment and condemnation leaves victims with a host of potential social, emotional, and psychological deficits including distrust, dependance on institutions, diminished self-worth, post-traumatic stress reactions and more (Haney, 2002). The process of being incarcerated brings about several psychological adaptations, brought about by the extreme demands of living in prison. Even after release, the counterproductive, deeply internalized patterns learned in prison are still present (Haney, 2002). In addition, the rate of incarceration of mentally ill individuals is alarming. Suspects will mental and developmental disorders are often unfairly sent to prison without regard to their conditions, leaving them helpless. Mentally ill inmates have an even more difficult time adjusting to life in prison, leaving them at an even higher risk for psychological

While being homeless is not a crime, police officers need to know how to handle a situation properly when they are facing a homeless person. “The Seattle Police Department uses community service officers (CSOs) to handle many of the homeless-related situations.” It is basically their job to help homeless people seek shelters, or send them to a drug or alcohol rehab program. I think that having community service officers in the departments are beneficial but I also believe that every officer should have appropriate training on how to handle homeless people or mentally ill people.

Much of the criminal activity that takes place today is heavily related to the lack of treatment for mental illness. According to the US National Library of Medicine, approximately 60% of shooter in mass shootings that took place in the United States after 1970 displayed symptoms of acute paranoia, delusions, and depression before committing their inhumane acts. I am sure that most of you are aware of the Sandy Hook shooting that took place on December 12, 2012. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza took the innocent lives of 20 students as well as the lives of 6 staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Lanza had displayed key signs of mental illness as young as the age of three. His parents mildly attempted to find treatment, but they were not as serious about the topic as they should have been. This lack of seriousness is heavily related to the lack of awareness of the severity of these types of

Pandiani, J.A., Banks, S.M., Carroll, B.B. & Schlueter, M.R. (2007). Crime Victims and Criminal Offenders Among Adults With Serious Mental Illness. Psychiatric Services, Vol. 58, No. 11: 1483-1485.

Furthermore, the pervasive stigma against them leads to increased cost and poorer health outcomes. Instead of looking at a patient’s violent behavior on the superficial level, one should take into account the patient’s diagnosis and past experience. For instance, violent behavior is prevalent in patients with schizophrenia and it is also the most common reason for the admission to a psychiatric inpatient unit (Krakowski, Czobor, Citrome, Bark, & Cooper, 2006). Many are also under-diagnosed and under-treated, resulting in wide treatment gaps. Most of them require psychoanalytic treatment to cope with their violent behavior. There is a need to educate hospital staff in order to improve care outcomes of these patients (Minne,