A National Survey of Correctional Psychologists

Abstract

Eight hundred psychologists working in U.S. prison systems were surveyed to provide a comprehensive profile of correctional psychology. The number of prison-based psychologists has doubled in the past 20 years. They are predominantly Caucasian males who work with offenders representing a wide spectrum of security levels and psychological problems. Administrative duties have grown and now occupy about one third of professional time. The authors also report preferred therapy modalities, mental health issues addressed in treatment, use of assessment instruments, and professional issues such as training and predictions of future correctional work. The authors discuss these results highlighting issues of professional identity, concerns about treatment for the severely mentally ill, calls for group-based treatments, and uses of task-specific assessment instruments. The authors also suggest attention be devoted to outcome assessment and to the issues of training and recruiting well-prepared psychologists for the challenging and critical role of correctional psychologist.