Mental Illness beyond Bars: Psychiatrists’ as a Contributor and Advocate for Change-View Presentation

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Video Summary

The session "Mental Illness Beyond Bars: Psychiatrists as Contributors and Advocates for Change," moderated by Dr. Deanne Hart, highlights the crucial role psychiatrists can play in the correctional system. The United States, despite having only 4% of the world's population, houses 25% of the world's prisoners. Incarcerated individuals often suffer from severe mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and trauma, yet mental health care within these facilities remains severely underserved due to staffing shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This session emphasizes the need for early exposure and training for psychiatric professionals regarding care in correctional settings, as well as post-release community reintegration.<br /><br />Dr. Elizabeth Ford, who specializes in the mental health care and advocacy for incarcerated individuals, notes the landscape of carceral psychiatry and its ethical considerations. She underscores the importance of understanding the environment's impact on inmates' mental health. Derek Stroud, a social worker with lived experience, emphasizes the need for empathy, client-centered care, and the distinction between trauma responses and traditional mental health diagnoses for system-impacted individuals. He advocates for seeing the person beyond their diagnosis.<br /><br />Dr. Danielle Kushner discusses the details of mental health services at New York City jails, aiming to match or exceed community standards for inmate care. She underscores the importance of adequate psychiatric care from incarceration to community re-entry.<br /><br />The session concludes with a call to action for increased exposure and training across the U.S. correctional facilities to improve care for the incarcerated and address systemic issues within correctional mental health care.

Keywords

mental illness

psychiatrists

correctional system

incarcerated individuals

mental health care

staffing shortages

COVID-19 pandemic

carceral psychiatry

ethical considerations

community reintegration

trauma responses

client-centered care

systemic issues