Discuss the below:
Create a 150 response to to the discussion below. Cite and reference to support answer. What are your thoughts about the post. Do agree or disagree with anything said. Is there anything to add to discusssion. Explain
These are specialized housing units referred to as administrative segregation or "Ad-Seg" units within a correctional facility. They house inmates who show an increased propensity toward violent or disruptive behavior. These units typically house validated gang members, inmates who are on sanctions for disciplinary issues and inmates requiring protective custody. Inmates suffering from mental illness have a more difficult time assimilating to the structure and rules required in a correctional institution than do inmates without mental illness. This creates a disproportionate number of inmates in solitary confinement or within the confines of an "Ad-Seg" unit. (Sawyer & Moffit, 2011)
Studies have shown that exposing an inmate suffering from mental illness to a segregation unit or solitary confinement can do greater harm to the inmate by further exacerbating the symptoms of his mental illness. Segregating inmates with mental illness increases dissociative behavior, aggression, and violence. (Metzner & Fellner, 2010). Since leaving these high-risk inmates in with the general population can be especially dangerous to that population and isolating inmate with mental illness can do further harm to the inmate what is a viable alternative?
References:
Sawyer, D. and Moffit, C., (2011). Correctional Mental Health: From theory to best practice. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Metzner, J., & Fellner, J. (2010, March). Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness in U.S.
Prisons: A Challenge for Medical Ethics. American Journal of the American Academy of
Psychiatry and he Law, 38(1), 104-108.