Handbook of Mental Health Assessment and Treatment in Jails

Abstract

Abstract Jails have become the main providers of mental health care in the country. Individuals incarcerated in jails have higher prevalence rates of mental illness, trauma, suicide, and substance use than individuals in the community or even in prisons. Most individuals incarcerated in jails are awaiting a disposition to their court case, making this pretrial environment particularly chaotic. Individuals incarcerated in jails are admitted directly from the community, can be unexpectedly released, and may present as clinically unstable; they are often experiencing intoxication or withdrawal, and have three times the rate of suicide as compared to people in the community. The challenges associated with delivery of mental health treatment in jails are often exacerbated by scarce resources. However, 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. Therefore, jail clinicians, administrators, and researchers have few resources to guide their interventions. The purpose of this handbook is to advance knowledge in the area of correctional mental health in the jail setting and to serve as a call to action for researchers to continue developing a scientific base for jail correctional mental health. The chapters’ authors represent a range of practitioners and researchers with extensive experience providing clinical, management, research, and consulting services in large urban, middle size, and small/rural jails across the country.