NCJ Number
134815
Journal
Psychology Volume: 28 Issue: 3-4 Dated: (1991) Pages: 22-26
Date Published
1991
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The author recounts his personal experience of nearly 2 years as senior clinical psychologist in a California prison treatment program, noting that the inmates were difficult to treat and the nontreatment staff also lacked skills and undermined treatment goals.
Abstract
The prison housed dangerous, violent inmates, resulting in a major emphasis on security measures. The prisoners were basically hostile and manipulative, mistaking the author's kindness for weakness. Their attitudes produced the dilemma of whether to treat them kindly and as humans or merely to repeat the abuse they had experienced as children and that had helped make them criminals. The staff included therapists and correctional officers, who were also called youth counselors. The youth counselors knew little about mental disorders and counseling and often believed that the inmates were bad people who needed punishment rather than treatment. In addition, the supervisor subjected the author to various kinds of mistreatment, making the environment unpleasant. A combination of these factors made the author return to academia, vowing never again to work in a prison. Actions recommended to make prison positions more attractive to other psychologists include improved training for nontreatment staff, improved relationships among staff, relaxation of the rules to give professionals some freedom to operate, and changed expectations of the prisoners. 8 references