Addressing the complex substance use and mental health needs of people leaving prison: Insights from developing a national inventory of services in Canada

Watson, Tara Marie; Benassi, P; Agic, Branka; Maharaj, Asha; Sockalingam, Sanjeev

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103523

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The social and political establishment may intend incarceration to solve past transgressions, but it also pauses the present and creates a labeling opportunity (Park & Tietjen, 2021). Additionally, it confines and constricts the futures of those released in a manner that fails to promote a successful return to life beyond the walls of an incarcerated setting, including encountering barriers related to access to care for substance use and mental health services during reentry (Watson, Benassi, Agic, Maharaj & Sockalingam, 2022).…”

Section: How I Got To This Pointmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thoughts Beyond Stigma-Implications for Change Reflected in the Voices of Previously Incarcerated Citizens

Frankel¹,

DePoy²

2023

Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice &Amp; Criminology

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State and federal prisons release more than six hundred thousand people annually, with nearly 95% of those returning to the communities in which they resided before incarceration, albeit frequently with discomfort and marginalization, largely due to stigma (Alexander, 2020;Park & Tietjen, 2021). Programs to foster reintegration exist in almost every locale, yet recidivism remains due to many factors. Stigma has received much attention as a cause of failure for successful reentry and acclimation (Park & Tietjen, 2021). With the surge of interest and empirical study of stigma as a barrier, the voices of returning citizens can further enhance significant theory and knowledge related to stigma to inform successful reentry and adjustment. The purpose of this study was to advance theory regarding the nature of stigma from the perspectives of prior incarcerated informants who also spent varying lengths of time back in their communities after completing a term of incarceration. As is often characteristic of a mixed method study relying on abductive analysis such as that presented herein, the findings often transcend or depart from the original purpose of an inquiry, elevating the richness and theoretical learning to include unexpected results. The study reveals and discusses insights beyond the intended aim of the research.According to contemporary research, stigma is one of the main barriers to successful acclimation to the community following release from incarceration (Alexander, 2020; Park & Teitjen, 2021). Stigma is a complex construct with multiple definitions and origins. What all have in common is the discrediting effect on the stigmatized person. As a result, society ascribes negative stereotypes and public mistrust to the "ex-convict," hampering successful reentry. Although perhaps unintended, discriminatory, rigid policy and practice lead to limited employment and housing opportunity, estrangement from family and friends, rejection from communities, and increased recidivism. These circumstances create a maelstrom of barriers to successful reentry and deny far too many formerly incarcerated citizens the opportunity to become productive community participants.Society needs systemic change to disrupt the recidivistic process and, more expansively, the toll on human life and community cohesion (Miller, 2021). A rich and textured knowledge of the lived experiences and perspectives about the stigma of formerly incarcerated individuals is essential to tailoring responses to enhance successful reentry. Through a systematic inquiry relying on semi-structured interviews and analysis of a sample of previously incarcerated individuals, this study endeavored to learn about the experience, stigma, and subsequent life challenges encountered by returning citizens as the basis for theory and knowledge development to reduce stigma as the foundation for improving successful reentry. The Scope of the ProblemState and federal prisons in the United States release more than six hundred thousand people annually, and nearly 95% return...

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Section: How I Got To This Pointmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thoughts Beyond Stigma-Implications for Change Reflected in the Voices of Previously Incarcerated Citizens

Frankel¹,

DePoy²

2023

Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice &Amp; Criminology

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“…First, there appears to be a dearth of such services specific to the needs of criminal justice-involved persons. Second, where there are such services, they often do not (or, at least, there is little to no publicly available information on how they) address the needs of specific populations such as Indigenous communities, Black and racialized communities, and women and gender-diverse people (see again Watson et al, 2022 ), for more detail on those lessons learned and general recommendations that emerged from this work). Next, we outline notable limitations with our methods.…”

Section: Case Example: Implementing a Health Equity-informed Multi-pr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our work represents a valuable case example for other projects that may seek to identify active community-based services and construct useable, inclusive program directories. We recently published key lessons learned from developing the national inventory for the MHCC (see Watson et al, 2022 ). In the present article, we contribute new information to the community mental health literature based on additional experiences during the development of this service inventory that spans different regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community-Based Mental Health and Substance Use Services for People Leaving Prison: Equity and Inclusion Strengths and Limitations in Specialized Service Inventory Development

Watson

Benassi

Agic

et al. 2022

Community Ment Health J

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Community reentry from prison is a challenging process, especially for persons with lived and living experience of mental health concerns. Access to appropriate community-based care for those leaving prison is a key part of improving health equity for this population. Our work to develop a cross-Canada inventory of active community mental health and substance use services for criminal justice-involved persons represents a valuable example for others hoping to conduct projects that are similar in nature and scope. We describe the strengths and limitations of our health equity-informed, multi-pronged approach to service inventory development, highlighting the importance of considering and addressing search- and stakeholder-related biases. Investment of time and resources is critical to ensuring comprehensive and inclusive identification of community-based mental health services and meaningful resource development.

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“…For example, in 2018, only 10% of the prison population in England and Wales were receiving treatment for a mental illness, despite just under half of the population experiencing difficulties (Forrester, Till, Simpson, & Shaw, 2018). This has led to calls for the creation of additional mental health services (Watson, Benassi, Agic, Maharaj, & Sockalingam, 2022). However, a key concern amongst health professionals is that while services are limited, prisoners often do not avail of existing treatment services while incarcerated (Forrester et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A social identity approach to mental health help‐seeking behaviour in prisoners: A systematic review

Byrne

Bradshaw

Kerin

et al. 2023

Community & Applied Soc Psy

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Prevalence of mental health difficulties is demonstrably higher in prison rather than general populations. Compounding this, prisoners often display a reluctance to seek help, which can undermine rehabilitation. Recent years has seen an increase in studies exploring the factors involved in help‐seeking behaviours amongst prisoners. However, many of these studies come from different disciplines and do not use an overarching theoretical approach. Consequently, policymakers face a difficult task of synthesising and interpreting the findings from different perspectives. Using a deductive thematic analysis informed by a social identity framework, this current study aims to synthesis the existing research and provide an overarching theoretical perspective. Eleven databases were systematically searched for studies exploring help‐seeking behaviours in prisoners with mental health difficulties. Results indicate that prisons represent sites of enactment of a specific institutionalised identity that inhibits help‐seeking behaviour. Three themes relating to (1) the maintenance of positive group identity, (2) ‘us’ and ‘them’, and (3) inhibiting prison context were identified. This review provides an overarching coherent narrative of the experiences and perspectives of prisoners help‐seeking behaviour. This can enable policymakers develop theory‐based approaches to support this vulnerable cohort. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

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Addressing the complex substance use and mental health needs of people leaving prison: Insights from developing a national inventory of services in Canada

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

Thoughts Beyond Stigma-Implications for Change Reflected in the Voices of Previously Incarcerated Citizens

Thoughts Beyond Stigma-Implications for Change Reflected in the Voices of Previously Incarcerated Citizens

Community-Based Mental Health and Substance Use Services for People Leaving Prison: Equity and Inclusion Strengths and Limitations in Specialized Service Inventory Development

A social identity approach to mental health help‐seeking behaviour in prisoners: A systematic review

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