Correctional Psychiatry: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Justice-Involved Individuals in Custody and the Community

Correctional Psychiatry: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Justice-Involved Individuals in Custody and the Community

The legal aims of the correctional system are to protect the community and to punish, deter, and offer rehabilitation to the offender. These goals may be at odds with the aims of psychiatric providers working in such settings. Consequently, jails and prisons can be challenging settings for the provision of mental health services for patients, providers, and the correctional staff. Even so, encounters with the criminal justice system can create opportunities for individuals with a severe mental illness, a substance use disorder, or both to obtain needed treatment that may otherwise be unavailable or difficult to access or that an individual would not choose to pursue in the community. With the development of diversion models and community-based forensic programs, such patients now have access to unique treatment strategies addressing concomitant legal and mental health needs.

This collection provides an update regarding correctional mental health care. The provision of mental health services within correctional environments continues to pose unique challenges, such as limited access to medications that are readily available in the community. Diversion programs that transition justice-involved individuals with mental illness from traditional criminal justice pathways toward treatment may reduce the burden of severe mental illness within correctional facilities and the risks to patients in such settings. At the same time, patients may be hesitant to engage in systems that they perceive to be coercive or overbearing. Innovations in meeting the mental health needs of incarcerated and justice-involved patients remain vital due to the ongoing high prevalence of mental illness and barriers to care faced by these populations.

OVERVIEW

Drivers of County Engagement in Criminal Justice–Behavioral Health Initiatives
Allison E. Cuellar, Ph.D., Niloofar Ramezani, Ph.D., Alex Bruno, M.S., Jennifer E. Johnson, Ph.D., Faye S. Taxman, Ph.D.
2022, Volume 73, Issue 6, pp 709–711

Prevalence of Mental Health Needs, Substance Use, and Co-occurring Disorders Among People Admitted to Prison
Amanda Butler, Ph.D., Tonia Nicholls, Ph.D., Hasina Samji, Ph.D., Sheri Fabian, Ph.D., M. Ruth Lavergne, Ph.D.
2022, Volume 73, Issue 7, pp 737–744

Mental Health Services in a U.S. Prison During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Paul R. S. Burton, M.D., Nathaniel P. Morris, M.D., Matthew E. Hirschtritt, M.D., M.P.H.
2021, Volume 72, Issue 4, pp 458–460

Differential Incarceration by Race-Ethnicity and Mental Health Service Status in the Los Angeles County Jail System
Oona Appel, Psy.D., Dustin Stephens, M.D., Ph.D., Sonya M. Shadravan, M.D., Justin Key, M.D., Kristen Ochoa, M.D., M.P.H.
2020, Volume 71, Issue 8, pp 843–846

TREATMENT IN CUSTODY

A Legal Right to Clozapine Therapy for Incarcerated Individuals With Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia
Theordore R. Zarzar, M.D., Joseph B. Williams, M.D., Megan E. Pruette, M.D., Brian B. Sheitman, M.D.
2021, Volume 72, Issue 4, pp 482–484

Clinical Outcomes of Specialized Treatment Units for Patients With Serious Mental Illness in the New York City Jail System
Elizabeth B. Ford, M.D., Kevin D. Silverman, M.P.H., Angela Solimo, M.A., Y. Jude Leung, Ph.D., Allison M. Smith, M.P.H., Connor J. Bell, M.P.H., Monica Katyal, J.D., M.P.H.
2020, Volume 71, Issue 6, pp 547–554

Ending Restrictive Housing in Prisons for People With Mental Disorders
Benjamin A. Barsky, J.D., M.B.E.
2022, Volume 73, Issue 4, pp 463–466

Grave Disability in U.S. Jails and Prisons
Nathaniel P. Morris, M.D., and Renée L. Binder, M.D.
2022, Volume 73, Issue 5, pp 577–579

Litigation Over Sleep Deprivation in U.S. Jails and Prisons
Nathaniel P. Morris, M.D., Jessica R. Holliday, M.D., M.P.H., Renée L. Binder, M.D.
2021, Volume 72, Issue 10, pp 1237–1239

DIVERSION AND COMMUNITY TREATMENT FOR JUSTICE-INVOLVED INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

A New Commitment Pathway for Offenders With Serious Mental Illness: Expedited Diversion to Court-Ordered Treatment
Steven K. Hoge, M.D., M.B.A., and Richard J. Bonnie, LL.B.
2021, Volume 72, Issue 8, pp 969–971

Lessons in “Slow” Engagement From Staff and Administrators at a Prebooking Jail Diversion Program
Neely Myers, Ph.D., Matthew Hutnyan, Gillian Wright, Garrett Lee, M.P.H.-H.A., C.A.T.C. IV, Paula Woodward, Justin Wilkey, Wayne Young, Elizabeth Bromley, M.D., Ph.D.
2022, Volume 73, Issue 10, pp 1117–1122

Affordability of Forensic Assertive Community Treatment Programs: A Return-on-Investment Analysis
Daniel Maeng, Ph.D., Zhi-Yang Tsun, M.D., Ph.D., Eric Lesch, M.D., David B. Jacobowitz, M.A., Robert L. Strawderman, Sc.D., Donald K. Harrington, M.B.A., Yue Li, Ph.D., M.S., Robert L. Weisman, D.O., J. Steven Lamberti, M.D.
2023, Volume 74, Issue 4, pp 358–364

Benefits and Drawbacks of Police Integration Into Assertive Community Treatment Teams
Catherine L. Costigan, Ph.D., Erica M. Woodin, Ph.D., Kari N. Duerksen, M.Sc., Ruth Ferguson, B.Sc.
2022, Volume 73, Issue 4, pp 447–455

Barriers to and Facilitators of Implementing Peer Support Services for Criminal Justice-Involved Individuals
Wallis E. Adams, M.P.H., Ph.D., and Alisa K. Lincoln, M.P.H., Ph.D.
2021, Volume 72, Issue 6, pp 626–632

Using Medicaid Coverage to Improve Peer Support and Other Services for Incarcerated Persons With Mental Illness
Marvin S. Swartz, M.D., Andrew D. Carlo, M.D., M.P.H., Amy Brinkley
2021, Volume 72, Issue 6, pp 621–622