NCJ Number
111867
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 49 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1985) Pages: 27-33
Date Published
1985
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article explores the distinction between correctional rehabilitation services and mental health services.
Abstract
Correctional rehabilitation services are therapeutic interventions intended to address the causes of criminality in an attempt to reduce criminal propensities, while mental health services are therapeutic interventions intended to address the causes of mental illness in an attempt to alleviate emotional adjustment problems. In the past, mental illness has been regarded as the cause of crime so mental health problems were addressed rather than correctional rehabilitation. That view has been forsaken, however, some scholars still maintain that criminality and mental illness are related. Most correctional rehabilitation services are similar to mental health services for noncorrectional clients. All inmates are eligible for correctional rehabilitation services, but only inmates with emotional problems are eligible for mental health services. Mental disorder represents a significant health care problem among inmate populations because the population is drawn from social groups which have a high rate of mental illness, and because prison life produces highly stressful environments for some inmates. It has been speculated that changes in laws governing the psychiatric hospitalization of civil patients may have increased the demand for mental health services in prisons, as well as judicial recognition of an inmate's right to receive such services. A number of professional organizations, such as the American Medical Association and the Presidents Commission on Mental Health, are concerned with the standards and delivery of mental health services in prisons. Prison administrators have some very practical reasons for trying to increase the level of mental health services (i.e., prison overcrowding and custodial problems). 37 footnotes.