...Mentally Ill in Prison PSCH/610 Mentally Ill in Prison Abstract The increase in incarcerated individuals with mental illness in the preceding decades has made the prison system a prevalent mental health provider even though they are not prepared or equipped for such task. Prison life is tough on an individual’s mental health; overcapacity, lack of privacy, violent behavior, lack of activity, inadequate health services, seclusion from family and friends, and the insecurity of what life holds after prison contribute to the inmate’s mental health. Inmates whose judgment is altered or impaired by depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other severe mental illnesses are impacted more severely by the tribulations of prison life. Inadequate mental health services is also something mentally ill inmates face, this absconds them undertreated or mistreated. Numerous prisoners do not receive proper psychotropic medication due to the lack of mental health services and care, further impairing their capability to function. The security mission of prisons tends to overlook mental health considerations. Prison rules and codes of demeanor teach staff about security, safety, supremacy, and power. Coordinating the needs of the mentally ill with prison regulations and goals is almost impractical. Factors of the sources and effects of the concern between prison and mental illness will be observed in this research proposal. Reforms will be provided to improve mental health...
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...Throughout history, the mentally ill have struggled to find morality within the world of psychiatry. During the 1960’s the increase in inhumane treatment for mentally ill patients and the growing number of patients forced into those treatments had individuals from all over the world making the decision to voice their opinions on this substantially growing issue. While the anti-psychiatry movement of the 60s can be known as a dark time in history, the influencers born from this movement created necessary change for patient care and their basic human rights. Anti-psychiatry first emerged in the 1960s and it is believed that this movement gained exceptional support due to people’s displeasure towards psychiatry, especially involving the unsubstantiated,...
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...jail rather than receiving treatment” (Therapy Today). This is the first problem that arises for mentally ill patients. They commit crimes that they are medically unaware to take responsibility for and are being put into prison facilities. Other problems have arose besides the number of mentally ill in jail, and those include the treatment that these people are faced with. Some of the mental disabilities include, but are not limited to anxiety, depression, multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia. Most of the time the community, family, and authorities have never experienced an encounter with a mentally ill person and therefore have no way to behave or react. Thus concluding...
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...over-representation of the mentally ill in the Canadian criminal justice system is unknown, evidence clearly points to the fact that it is not only existent, but it is also significant. Although mental illness is invariably defined, the broadest definition which includes substance abuse and antisocial personality disorder leads to the conclusion that at least 90% of offenders in the Canadian criminal justice system in Canada have a history of mental illness. Antisocial personality disorder is the most common diagnosis and is estimated to plague at least 80%of the population of prisoners within the Canadian criminal justice system. In addition, other infrequently diagnosed conditions include brain injuries, low...
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...Court should declare involuntary commitment of the mentally ill unconstitutional because it violates the civil rights of mentally ill persons and coercive medication rarely succeeds in effectively treating...
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...Reflection Joe Nocera argues in his New York Times op-ed column “Guns and Mental Illness” that it should be more difficult for people, rather than the mentally-ill, to attain a firearm due to a recent mass shooting in California. Last month, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger went on a shooting spree in Isla Vista, California after emailing a 140-page manifesto to his parents. Nocera recapitulates the terrifying tale of two parents racing to California only to have their worst fears confirmed: Elliot had killed six people before committing suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Elliot had a long history with depression and had never been admitted to a psychiatric facility. It is unclear whether Elliot should have been admitted to a psychiatric clinic. In particular, Elliot did not have a criminal history. He was simply a sequestered adolescent with poor social skills. In other words, Elliot had a right to purchase a gun. Mass shooters tend to meet the profile of socially awkward males. Statistically, however, very few socially awkward males actually commit mass shootings. It would be unlawful to deny males who meet this profile access to a firearm. Indeed, Nocera notes that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that mentally-ill people who are neither violent nor dangerous cannot be forced into an institution. Therefore, Nocera concludes that we should make it more difficult for everyone to attain a gun. The author has a clear liberal bias. The column...
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...communities contain a mentally ill population. Their behavior is considered to be inappropriate and abnormal. Every society has cultivated solutions in which to treat the mentally ill in order to prevent disruption of the strong civil function. Normal behavior varies through generations and societies. When deciding if a person is mentally ill, the generation and culture must be taken into consideration. Approximately 26 percent of the U.S. population suffers from mental illness, with six percent of that percentage suffering from such debilitating mental afflictions that their ability to function is limited. The History of Mental Illness In ancient times, mental illness was thought to be madness caused by demonic possession. Skulls of the “mad” were drilled to allow the demon to escape. During the middle ages, mental illness was believed to be the result of witchcraft and demonic control. The tormented were treated as criminals and subject to torturous acts. They were often tied up and thrown into bitterly cold waters. If the person floated, they were considered to be a witch and were murdered in an inhumane and heinous manner. If the suspected sunk, they were found not guilty of witchcraft. The freezing water was accepted as a cure for “madness.” By the mid 1700’s, mental illness was considered an issue for the afflicted’s family. As the American colonies grew, the mentally ill began to negatively impact the society. Almshouses were used to board the mentally ill. Specialized hospitals...
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...mental illnesses have been confined in jails and prisons between 1770 and 1820. Incarcerating such people was considered inhumane, so mentally ill people were placed into hospitals instead of jails up until 1970. Ever since the 1970s, people with mental disorders are being imprisoned for their crimes(Torrey). America once considered incarcerating the mentally ill to be inhumane, but then they suddenly changed their mind and have considered it to be legal. Ever since the 1970s, numbers of imprisoned people with mental illnesses has exponentially increased, “In 2012, there were estimated to be 356,268 inmates with severe mental illness in prisons and jails. There were also approximately 35,000 patients with severe mental illness in state psychiatric hospitals”(Torrey). There is approximately ten...
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...Lauren Rohe PSYCH1810 Roche October 22, 2010 Author: Ruscio, John Article: “Diagnosis and Behaviors They Denote” Stigmatization is a big issue then psychology profession faces every day. The theory of labeling can cause an effect on the individual and the society together. The author of this article, John Ruscio is a psychologist who examined a few cases to show how labeling is a challenge for others. Do the mentally ill suffer from social rejection from stigmatization? These case studies give a few examples on the few from both perspectives. He makes good points from his examples, and then in the end shows his perceptions and his advice on how to change this social problem. Pseudo patients and Pseudoscience There were eight mentally stable patients that pretended to act insane and fake their symptoms to be checked into a mental hospital. After diagnosed with schizophrenia, the patients stopped faking their symptoms. When the hospital staff could see the patients “sanity”, they were discharged after a 19 day stay from the mental hospital. The observations from inside of the hospital showed that the labels from the psychologist will remain with the patient for the rest of their life. The “insane are not always insane”, and occasional behavior, will still receive a label of illness in mental hospitals. Patients, Job Applications, and Psychological Disturbance A group of psychologists were asked to watch a muted video tape of an interview occurring. One group was...
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...plans for soldiers and their family member, however pride and fear of being degraded keeps soldiers from seeking treatment. Barriers are not a part of the permanent fixture, they can be broken. There are many barriers that holds a mentally ill person back from getting the proper treatment that they need. However, I will discuss three barriers that affect the progression of the mentally ill. Social capital, community barriers, and financial barriers can be the leading causes that affect this vulnerable group. Remember that social capital is the measure of interpersonal relationships that people have with others; to phrase it differently, social capital is the support network of family and friends who take care of us when we are ill and hug us at the end of a bad day" (Burkholder & Nash, 2013). "The “social” in social capital emphasizes that these resources are not personal assets; no single person owns. When it comes to regulatory, legal, ethical, and accreditation requirements, there are none that relate to this barriers. Doctors, Kawachi, I., & Berkman, (2001) studies agree that social ties play a beneficial role in the maintenance of psychological well-being. The study also suggest that different groups of the mentally ill have different outcomes. An example, Social connections may paradoxically increase levels of mental illness symptoms among women with low resources, especially if such connections entail role strain associated with obligations to provide...
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...External Stakeholders Art Clabon Professor Smarr Strayer University January 19, 2015 Loading...INTERNAL and EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS 2 Internal and External Stakeholders Identified- There are increasing counts of badly unstable ill people in the criminal justice system. This paper will shed light on the criminalization of people that has such illness thus issues that cause it. The law enforcement and mental health treatment what can be done to help the mentally ill offenders and the difficulties it causes. There are some recommendations to lesson or bring down criminalization of mentally ill people in the justice system this can occur by increasing and coordination of the police and mental health professionals in the field, which includes mental health training classes for law enforcement personnel. This can better help law enforcement and mental health personnel after the arrest are made. Thus making and developing a more suitable community treatment center for mentally ill offenders to be treated. This could work if the necessary people and components are in place for this type of center. But in order for this too occur both theory and practice must be there such as short-term and long-term goals for the offenders and a good liaison for the treatment of mentally ill offender in the justice system. This should also include the understanding and the desire for it structure. Things that shouldn’t be over looked are controlling the violence within the treatment center, and the crucial but...
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...mental illness. At least twenty percent of people pass through mental disorders in some way or the other during their lifetime. Stigma towards mentally ill people is very risky. This affects on their ability to perform duties, their revival, treatment procedure and support they receive, and their recognition in the group of people. Stigma is considered as a sign of shame, dishonour or disapproval, of being rejected by others. Stigma is painful and humiliating. Since Civilization, persons suffering from mental barrier of their disability accompanied social stigma and negative social mind-sets. A determined negative outlook and social rejection of people with disabilities is evident all through history and across the culture. Society viewed mentally ill people as either morally wrong or they were being punished by God, or as being possessed by demonic spirits requiring some religious interventions. Research indicates that the extent of social rejection and social stigma differs with precise disabilities, creating a well-defined hierarchical order. Stigmatization possibly has a remarkable comportment on the distribution of life chances in mental illness. • Society :- Generally people have feeling that person gripped under mental illness is less capable, inefficient, should be institutionalized or will never get improved. As an effect of such stigma, mental illnesses remain the butt of jokes in popular culture. People are more stigmatized to some kind of mental illnesses than...
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...and its themes, is a reflection of the characters’ immediate world, as well as the world at large. Explain this statement with reference to the text.” The Play Cosi, written by playwright Louis Nowra, is about members from a mental institution, who with the help of the protagonist Lewis are presenting an opera called ‘Cosi Fan Tutte.’ The opera tells the story of two officers, who pretend to leave for war to test the fidelity of their lovers. The themes of madness, attitude towards the mentally ill, transformations and growth and fidelity and love are portrayed through the conventions and techniques of symbolism, play within a play, setting and characters. Readers are positioned to respond to the immediate world and the world at large with complete madness, as it seems the world at large is a world apart from society. The play explores the theme of madness through the convention of setting. The idea of an inside world and outside world is shown through the symbolism and paranoia of society. The dark, derelict burnt out theatre is a metaphor for the world at large, and the drama that is enacted on its charred surface is a reflection of the larger dramas taking place outside. The outside world is noticed to have fear about the spread of communism, the mass casualties and the war crimes, for example the massacre of civilians, the torture of people and the rape. Readers respond to the absolute madness at times with confusion, as it’s hard to understand what it means exactly to...
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...it is often abused. One way in which they sought to make the insanity defense stricter is by requiring that for the defense to be used, the perpetrator must not be of sound mind meaning they must not understand the act that they had committed and/or they must not be able to understand that the act was wrong (morally and legally). On the other hand, those who support the insanity defense believe that there are actually not that many cases in which a defendant claims the insanity defense (less than one percent). They also claim that it is necessary because it is “morally wrong” to treat them as you would a person of sound mind because they are unable to understand the crime, their actions, and the law. For example, there are laws in effect which hold children to a different standard as well as those who are intellectually disabled because you can’t expect a...
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...Who Distinguishes Evil from Illness? By age 30 Andrea Yates had been high school class valedictorian, captain of the swim team, an officer in the National Honor Society, graduated from the University of Houston as a registered nurse, wedded and had her first child. It seemed Yates’s ambition of fulfilling her life with all her hopes and dreams could not be diverted. The Yates family was very religious and Bible reading was an enjoyed pass time within the household. Around 1990, Andrea’s internal issues came to the surface with her self-mutilation accompanied by a suicide attempt, which was followed by a short admission into a psychiatric ward. When released her mood had stabilized from a newly prescribed anti-psychotic with her life looking up. This cycle, unfortunately, insisted on continuing on three separate occasions before Andrea was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and post-partum depression. Yates was warned that if she were to become pregnant again it was highly likely the episodes of psychotic behavior would resurface. She began to grasp the magnitude of her mental health and was readily taking her medications despite the begging and pleading from her husband for another child. Nonetheless, Andrea gave in and the pregnancy of her 5th child began in 2000. In the events of her newborn’s birth, discontinuation of her anti-psychotic, and the passing of her father, Andrea’s spiral into depression was more catastrophic than ever. June 20th, 2001, her husband went...
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