Correctional Mental Health Handbook

Clinicians who work on the frontlines of correctional mental health know that the challenges are only increasing. Not only is the proportion of inmates with mental disorders growing at a rate that exceeds that of the correctional population as a whole, but this group is expanding at both ends of the aging continuum, so that increasing numbers of both geriatric and juvenile offenders require assessment and treatment. Changing patient demographics and evolving treatment modalities make it essential that psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and other professionals who serve the prison population have access to the most practical, up-to-date, and comprehensive resource. Handbook of Correctional Mental Health, now in an expanded, second edition, is that resource. This book addresses key concepts to ensure that the reader meets the current standard of care for inmates through all phases of the criminal justice system. In 20 state-of-the-art chapters, nationally recognized providers and correctional mental health experts address the most pressing issues facing clinicians. Unique to this edition, the Handbook: Summarizes the literature regarding unique populations observed in a correctional environment, thereby assisting the provider in tailoring treatment to various target populations. Provides a clear overview of both malpractice law and the concept of "deliberate indifference" that aids the reader in understanding the legal requirements for providing care and minimizing risks of lawsuits. Educates clinicians on how to differentiate feigned versus legitimate mental health symptoms, and how to understand and interpret inmate motivations for psychiatric malingering. Discusses important administrative aspects regarding documentation issues, quality assurance, and practicing under a consent decree. Provides useful tables throughout the text with key summary points emphasized. Includes five new, clinically focused chapters on the assessment and treatment of inmates with substance use disorders, geriatric offenders, juvenile offenders, inmates with self-injurious behaviors, offenders who have experienced various traumas during their lives, and inmates housed on maximum security units and death row. Other titles in the field are either out-of-date or limited in scope. By contrast, this new edition of Handbook of Correctional Mental Health includes everything mental health professionals need to provide the highest standard of care to this growing -- and complex -- patient population.

Designed for those who work in correctional settings and as a textbook for the college classroom, this volume covers many administrative, organizational, and ethical issues as well as the practical aspects of the field. The core mental health services used within the correctional institution are described in detail before general characteristics, treatment, and management of specific groups are discussed, including those who abuse substances, the mentally impaired, female offenders, sexual offenders, and juvenile offenders. The various clinical and consultative activities offered to treat and train institutional staff are also described. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Correctional Mental Health Handbook is the first book to offer a comprehensive overview of the services provided by correctional mental health professionals for the various populations found in correctional programs and facilities. Edited by Thomas J. Fagan and Robert K. Ax, experts with over 40 years of correctional mental health experience, this unique handbook is divided into three sections. The first section provides a flexible model for organizing mental health services based on staffing levels, facility mission, and local need. The second section considers typical offender problems.

Correctional Mental Health is a broad-based, balanced guide for students who are learning to treat criminal offenders in a correctional mental health practice. Featuring a wide selection of readings, this edited text offers a thorough grounding in theory, current research, professional practice, and clinical experience. It emphasizes a biopsychosocial approach to caring for the estimated 20% of all U.S. prisoners who have a serious mental disorder. Providing a balance between theoretical and practical perspectives throughout, the text also provides readers with a big-picture framework for assessing current correctional mental health and criminal justice issues, offering clear strategies for addressing these challenges.

This multifaceted handbook provides an abundance of tips and refinements that can improve the provision of correctional health care. Coverage ranges from basic principles of record keeping and informed consent to special topics such as checklists for suicide prevention and screening tools for malingering or mental illness.

Jails are the largest service providers of mental health in the United States. Unlike prisons, where all incarcerated individuals have been convicted of a crime and are serving long sentences, most individuals incarcerated in jails are waiting a disposition to their court case, making this pretrial environment particularly chaotic. Jail detainees have higher prevalence rates of mental illness, trauma, suicide, and substance use than individuals in the community or even in prisons. Adequate mental health interventions are essential to prevent suicide; to mitigate acute psychopathology, retraumatization, and stress; and to reduce recidivism. Mental health practice and research in jails requires specialized knowledge, but the vast majority of the literature on correctional mental health is derived from prison research. The Handbook of Mental Health Assessment and Treatment in Jails draws upon existing research and the experiences of a range of correctional psychologists, psychiatrists, and researchers to provide guidance for working with people with mental health needs in jails. The Handbook both advances knowledge in correctional mental health in the jail setting and serves as a call to action for researchers to continue developing a scientific base for jail correctional mental health. Chapters include legal and ethical considerations in jails, reentry issues that are specific to jails, interventions for competency restoration in jail detainees, assessment and treatment of neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive disorders, special considerations for rural jails, and special populations such as adolescents and women. This book will serve as a go-to guide for mental health professionals who provide clinical services in jails, jail administrators, and researchers.

Correctional Mental Health is a broad-based, balanced guide for students who are learning to treat criminal offenders in a correctional mental health practice. Featuring a wide selection of readings, this edited text offers a thorough grounding in theory, current research, professional practice, and clinical experience. It emphasizes a biopsychosocial approach to caring for the estimated 20% of all U.S. prisoners who have a serious mental disorder. Providing a balance between theoretical and practical perspectives throughout, the text also provides readers with a big-picture framework for assessing current correctional mental health and criminal justice issues, offering clear strategies for addressing these challenges.

Correctional psychology is an area of specialization that has recently enjoyed explosive growth along with the burgeoning United States prison population and the renewed interest in providing correctional rehabilitation programs that reduce inmate recidivism. This completely revised and updated second edition continues to provide an overview of empirical findings and practices in the field. The text focuses specifically on the psychologist's role within a correctional setting and clarifies the differences in working with inmates and correctional staff from populations more commonly encountered.