Mental Health Problems among Prisoners and a Peer-help Counselling Model for Suicide Prevention

P Govindarajan P Govindarajan,S T Janetius S T Janetius

doi:10.25215/0403.086

P Govindarajan P Govindarajan, S T Janetius S T Janetius

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.25215/0403.086

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Abstract

A correctional institution to incarcerate people is indispensable for every social system in the world since crime and criminals are seen in all the cultures in human history. A prison is a place of punishment in which people who violate the law are penalised as per the Indian Penal Code. The history of prison in India and constant changes in various prison conditions reflect the varying social attitude towards crime, prison and prison inmates. NCRB estimates that there are 36,900 to 3,84,700 prisoners in India and more than 10 million people all over the world (Jain, 2014). It is a known fact that a prison is a place people least prefers to visit. Life inside a prison is traumatic, stressful and a lot of mental health problems are observed inside the prison (Tosh, 1982; Janetius & Mini, 2013; Bartol & Bartol, 2014). Suicides in prison are also a global phenomenon. In 2014, prisons in England alone had 82 suicides. In India, the average annual death rate inside the prison is 375 but the reported suicide rate is less than 20 percent (Jain, 2014). Although social workers are employed in every prison, a variety of mental health service is offered mainly by social workers, psychologists and other service personnel from NGOs and other institutions in an unorganised way that reduces the stress, depression and other mental health problems of prison inmates. This empirical study describes the situation of prisoners and various causes of mental health problems, with the special reference to suicides, and evaluates the various services offered and proposes an Evidence-Based Peer-help counselling Model for suicide prevention in the prison.

Highlights

January 8, 1902 Oak Park, Illinois, U.S February 4, 1987 San Diego, California, U.S American Client-centered therapy, Studentcentered learning, Rogerian argument Phenomenal field, Theoretical works
Rogers attempted to change the world of psychotherapy when he boldly claimed that psychoanalytic, experimental, and behavioral therapists were preventing their clients from ever reaching self-realization and self-growth due to their authoritive analysis
In 1940 Rogers became professor of psychology at Ohio State University where he stayed until 1945. He transferred to the University of Chicago in 1945 where he served as the professor of psychology and the executive secretary at the Counseling Center

Summary

Introduction

January 8, 1902 Oak Park, Illinois, U.S February 4, 1987 San Diego, California, U.S American Client-centered therapy, Studentcentered learning, Rogerian argument Phenomenal field, Theoretical works. Carl Ransom Rogers was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach in psychology. Throughout his career he dedicated himself to humanistic psychology and is well known for his theory of personality development.

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