According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, almost two out of every five people in a correctional facility have a history of mental illness, and about 63% of those people do not receive the mental health treatment they need while incarcerated.
Past research also shows that being in prison worsens mental health illness symptoms, as well as creates new ones. A study published in March 2024 found that about one out of every 10 incarcerated people in the prison system was diagnosed with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Despite the obvious need for mental health services in correctional facilities, there are barriers keeping people who are incarcerated from keeping the care they need. However, evidence-based studies show that care for mental health disorders provided in prisons can help diminish the stressors that people who have mental health issues face when incarcerated.
Long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons that includes screenings, treatment, and support services for mental health concerns can help ensure prisoners receive the care they need. This type of program has several benefits, including reduced violence issues and lower recidivism rates, and can be conducted either onsite or via telepsychiatry.
Understanding the Mental Health Crisis in Jails and Prisons
The U.S. prison system is overcrowded and understaffed. This includes mental health professionals such as counselors, which are impacted by not just staffing shortages, but high turnover rates as well — as many as 30% of correction agency workers leave every year.
Untreated health conditions in correctional facilities can lead to many issues that negatively impact not only the health of those in state prisons but also their ability to live in prison and be rehabilitated. These include:
- Aggression and/or anger outbursts
- Feelings of victimization
- Inability to cope with daily life in prison
- Increased substance abuse or new substance use disorders
- Major mood swings
- Psychological distress
- Self-harming behaviors
- Sleeping problems
- Social issues
- Suicidal thoughts
When people who are incarcerated are not receiving care for their serious mental illness, this can have a detrimental impact on the rehabilitation process, as it makes it harder for them to want to participate in therapy and follow their treatment plans.
And if people in state and federal prisons are released with untreated mental health problems, their chances of relapsing and/or being reincarcerated. Past studies show the recidivism rate can be as much as 32% for those who leave with untreated mental health issues.
What Is Long-Term Mental Health Monitoring?
Short-term assessments and crisis interventions focus on helping a person in prison who is currently having a mental health issue. However, these types of treatments are designed for quick and immediate action, and not for long-term care.
Long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons provides consistently ongoing mental health treatment over a prolonged period of time.
This type of treatment normally uses a combination of therapy sessions — including both in-person and telepsychiatry — as well as constant monitoring through wearable sensors or smartphone apps.
Long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons allows those in prison to receive the care they need with a multifaceted approach and more personalized treatment plans for their specific mental health needs.
In addition to continuous therapy, long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons also assists with medication management, stress-relieving activities such as exercise, and assistance with continuing treatment after being released.
Benefits of Long-Term Mental Health Monitoring in Jails and Prisons
On-going mental health monitoring provides correctional facilities with many significant benefits that can help ensure incarcerated persons with mental health needs receive the care they need for the benefit of not only themselves but also the staff and the overall prison population.
Improved Inmate Well-Being and Rehabilitation
Unlike reactive crisis interventions, long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons is proactive by providing ongoing consistent care for as long as needed.
This type of program can also be used to detect worsening symptoms and new conditions. It is completely personalized, allowing each individual to receive the care they need for their specific mental health conditions rather than only receiving overall mental health therapy and medications.
Long-term mental health monitoring has a proven track record of increased chances of successful rehabilitation and reentry into society.
Reduced Violence and Behavioral Issues
Previous research shows that incarcerated persons who do not receive help for their mental health needs are prone to being more violent. This can make their time in a correctional facility more expensive in terms of the safety and well-being of their community, correctional officers, and staff.
Long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons allows therapists to get to the root of the problem, and provide personalized treatment and support for each individual. This can help alleviate stress and anxiety that can lead to violence.
Additionally, long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons can diagnose worsening symptoms or new mental health concerns, which means that a person gets help quicker than they would through just crisis interventions.
Lower Recidivism Rates
The U.S. currently has a high recidivism rate, with about 66% of incarcerated individuals released from 24 states in 2008 being arrested within three years and 82% within 10 years, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
A study published in March 2020 found that receiving assistance with mental health issues in prison was correlated with a lower recidivism rate. This was even higher if the incarcerated person received both in-person and post-release help.
Additional studies have discovered that when people who are released from prison are connected with community-based mental health services, there is a decrease in re-arrests and reconvictions. Long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons can help ensure incarcerated people are connected with continuing mental health care when released.
Cost Savings for the Justice System
As of 2015, the state Department of Correction facilities around the U.S. paid on average $5,720 for health care services per incarcerated person, which included mental health care.
On top of that, mental health crisis interventions or hospitalizations are additional costs that can be quite large.
Providing long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons helps keep them on the road to recovery, provides warnings of compounding or new symptoms, and gives them the tools they need to get through each day in prison.
This also helps correctional institutions save on possible legal costs associated with prison violence and allows correctional officers and staff to take a rehabilitation-focused approach over punitive measures like solitary confinement, which can actually have a detrimental effect on an incarcerated person’s mental health.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides protection against discrimination for incarcerated individuals who have mental health issues, yet more than half do not get the mental health care they need while in prison.
Correctional facilities have a legal obligation to provide overall adequate care for people in prison, including severe mental illness. However, budgeting and staffing issues can make this very difficult for prisons to achieve.
Long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons provides an ongoing, cost-effective way for correctional facilities to meet the needs of their populations and aligns with modern prison reform initiatives.
Telepsychiatry: A Safe and Equitable Solution
Telepsychiatry is a type of telehealth—sometimes also called telemedicine or telecare—in which psychiatric services are provided over the phone or via videoconferencing.
Both telepsychiatry and telehealth as a whole have been gaining popularity in correctional settings due to their cost-effectiveness and accessibility. Past research shows that incarcerated individuals with mental health concerns were satisfied with the telepsychiatry they received, and that video conference mental and behavioral health care is just as effective as in-person sessions.
Here are some of the benefits of using telehealth psychiatry for long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons:
- Increasing accessibility: Telepsychiatry can help overcome staffing shortages by not needing to have as many on-site mental health professionals. It can also help incarcerated individuals get the care they need quicker, and gives them on-demand access to specialists via referrals they may not normally have access to.
- Enhancing safety: With telepsychiatry, people in a prison environment can see mental health providers without them needing to be on-site, making it a safer option.
- Cost-effective implementation: Telepsychiatry provides a number of cost benefits, including reductions in staffing and transportation costs. Some correctional facilities can save as much as $1 million or more by using telepsychiatry.
- Increased empathy and understanding: Some incarcerated people may worry about the stigma associated with seeing on-site mental health clinicians. Telepsychiatry can provide increased privacy, which can make them more willing to pursue their care for the long term.
- Equitable mental health care: Telepsychiatry ensures your entire general population receives consistent access to psychiatric professionals regardless of your population’s size or location.
- Future potential: Artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to be used more in health care, including mental health. AI-assisted mental health assessments, treatment programs, and digital tracking will play an important role in the future of long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons.
The Importance of Long-Term Mental Health Monitoring in Jails and Prisons
There is no denying that most people in prison face mental health challenges, which can worsen when incarcerated. Correctional facilities have a responsibility to ensure everyone in their population has access to the mental health care they need.
Providing long-term mental health care is important for fostering rehabilitation over punishment, lowering recidivism rates, reducing violence-related risk factors, providing the best possible mental health outcomes, and help better prepare incarcerated individuals for release.
Long-term mental health monitoring in jails and prisons provides a cost-effective and safe way to reach all of these important outcomes.
Contact us now to learn how you can partner with FasPsych to provide long-term mental health monitoring for your correctional facility.