The Mentally Ill In Prison

In the free world(life outside a prison) Mental Illness is a label and term that is generally applied very specifically and narrowly. Lots of folks who battle depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity disorder, would never think of themselves as Mentally Ill and are not really labelled or described in that way. In the free world, Mental Illness as both a label and a category are reserved for schizophrenia, psychosis, extreme bipolars, and the mentally retarded.

However, in prison, Mental Illness and the treatment of Mental Illness is the domain of psychiatry and Mental Health Departments. The label and the category are broad. In fact, when offenders are screened for Mental Illness, we look at present behaviors and past history. What are we looking for? If a person has a free world history of treatment by psychiatrist or an inpatient stay at the Mental Hospital, if the person has ever attempted suicide, or has ever reported taking a medication that is designated as a psychotropic medication, or has seen a counselor for any reason; been diagnosed as a child with any number of issues such a Attention Deficit Disorder or Hyperactive disorder, or is Mentally retarded or Borderline Mental Functioning. We also screen for all the above list of situations, diagnoses, services while in the prison system. So, Mental Illness is broad, very broad.

What is challenging to learn and experience is in Texas, the largest providers of Mental Health services are not medically trained personnel or clinically trained counselors or psychotherapists or psychologists, but police officers, jailors, and correctional officers.

And generally, this large group of folks, in both the free world and prison are largely not interested in identifying or understanding Mental Illnesses. So, the keepers and the daily minders of the ill basically have no interest in their illness.

Sad irony that more often that not ends in tragedy.