Lack Of Mental Health Professionals Research Articles

Female Juvenile Offenders Incarcerated as Adults

• Summary: A pilot study was conducted which examined the development and implementation of a psychoeducational group intervention for young female offenders incarcerated in adult jail. The purpose of the group intervention was to reduce levels of depression, anxiety and trauma symptoms among the female juveniles. T-test analyses were utilized to examine differences between pre-tests and post-tests on the three outcome variables. • Findings: Findings indicated that the group intervention may be effective in alleviating depression and trauma symptoms among young female offenders. No significant differences between pre-test and post-test were found for anxiety. • Applications: Due to large caseloads and lack of mental health professionals in the jails and prisons in the United States, young offenders receive little or no mental health treatment when they are incarcerated in the adult jail system. The group intervention described in the current study holds promise for providing a cost-effective and efficient technique for delivering mental health services to this young population of offenders incarcerated in adult jail. If we are concerned about curbing the rising tide of violence among juveniles, we must develop innovative rehabilitation programs to meet the needs of this population of inmates in our jail and prison systems.

Providing Psychiatric Services in a Rural Setting

The provision of psychiatric services in rural areas is complicated by difficult and frustrating obstacles that tax the resourcefulness of the psychiatrist. Psychiatric care is at a premium because of the small number of psychiatrists practicing in rural areas. Moreover, the psychiatrists services must be efficiently organized if they are to have a significant impact on the mental health of the community being served. Rural areas are generally under served by psychiatrists. The Presidents Commission on Mental Health [l] noted the lack of mental health professionals, including the scarcity of psychiatrists, in rural areas and recommended specific actions to correct the manpower deficits. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [ 2] has called attention to the major disparity in psychiatric manhours between innercity mental health facilities and those in rural areas: inner-city facilities were found to have available to them 1,149.0 psychiatric hours per 100,000 population, whereas rural areas had only 72.0. The reasons for such a maldistribution of psychiatric manpower are varied. Tucker, Turner, & Chapman [ 3] have mentioned, for example, the influences of rural culture, personal needs, and professional isolation as factors that discourage psychiatrists from practicing in rural areas. There are additional stresses and barriers to effective rural