Barriers to Ethical and Effective Mental Health Care in Criminal Justice Settings

Abstract

The practice of assessment in carceral settings is multifaceted and complex, especially given the high rates of psychopathology combined with the challenges inherent to carceral settings (e.g., inmate-clients’ limited privacy). Psychologists in these settings also encounter therapeutic and ethical issues that generally do not occur in many other settings (or at least not in the same manner). These characteristics complicate assessment practice, require specific strategies to navigate, and, at worst, create barriers to ethical and effective practice. This panel will present a roundtable discussion focused on the barriers to ethical and effective mental health care in carceral settings, with a specific focus on managing issues in the practice of assessment. Potential topics will include varied obstacles due to the limited availability of resources, personnel, and training; policies imparted by the criminal justice system; incompatibility between best practices and what is possible in many carceral settings; normative limitations of commonly used instruments; the ethics of being collaborative to a carceral system; and other systematic or unique barriers the panel or audience members identify. The goals of this roundtable are to explicitly name these barriers, share insights and recommendations for navigating them, and encouraging individuals in the field to pursue (new) strategies for bettering assessment practice in carceral settings. Individuals who attend will have the opportunity to ask experts in the field their questions related to the provision of mental health care and assessment in these settings and discuss any pertinent challenges experienced in their own practice. We hope attendees will gain a newfound appreciation for pursuing the betterment of mental health care in carceral settings, as well as real-world strategies that can be implemented in their own work.

Coordinator

Jacy Murdock | Sam Houston State University

Speakers

Ksera Dyette | Williams James College

Emily Gottfried | Medical University of South Carolina

Sierra Iwanicki | PAR, Inc

Abby Mulay | Medical University of South Carolina

Adam Natoli | Sam Houston State University

Goals & Objectives

1. identify multiple barriers to ethical and effective assessment in criminal justice settings.
2. describe strategies for anticipating and managing barriers in the practice of assessment in criminal justice settings.