Advocating for an Incarcerated Informed Lens in Therapy

Abstract

Exceptionally high rates of incarceration in the United States have caused a need for a major social justice movement. This paper explains the various collateral damages endured by the incarcerated population. Several research studies related to the unintended consequences of incarceration on outcomes related to couple and family relationships, racial disparities, employment, poverty and public health are examined. The importance of individual, couple, and family therapy and its effectiveness toward improving the lives of those negatively impacted by incarceration is discussed.

Coparenting, Negative Educational Outcomes, and Familial Instability in Justice-involved Families

“…Understanding and recognizing barriers to equal educational experiences for all children can lead to viable solutions related to the effects of incarceration on children (Turney & Haskins, 2014). While we did not find any relationship between coparents who can rely on one another and child outcomes, previous research has shown that children of an incarcerated parent are more likely to experience homelessness, housing instability, food insecurity, and lower rates of educational achievement (Sexton, 2016), thus displaying that this is a systemic problem (Tadros et al, 2021b).…”

Treating Mental Illness and Relational Concerns in Incarcerated Settings

“…Despite providing couple and family community–based services, these service professionals seldomly work within adult criminal justice settings (Datchi et al, 2016; Tadros et al, 2020b). Traditionally, family services have not been provided in incarcerated facilities (Datchi & Sexton, 2013; Datchi et al, 2016; Tadros et al, 2020b, 2021; Tadros & Ogden, 2020). While reviewing the literature, only a few articles discussed family therapy in the incarcerated setting.…”

“…Through the inclusion of marriage and family programs in correctional settings, it would appear that there has been progress in improving marital and family satisfaction for incarcerated persons and families (Gendreau, 1996). Integrating families into treatment of incarcerated individuals may assist in enriching relationships as well as increasing the likelihood of successful reentry into the home and community (Tadros & Finney, 2018, Tadros et al, 2021). The literature displays that systemic models applied to the incarcerated population seem to be those adolescent-focused models and in juvenile settings (Dragomir & Tadros, 2020).…”

“…Incarcerated individuals are an extremely underserved population, particularly in regard to receiving mental health and family services (Tadros et al, 2020b). Moreover, the incarcerated population is considered a special population; thus, a clinician needs to be well-informed and knowledgeable on unique differences, needs, challenges, and obstacles experienced by this population (Tadros et al, 2021). Consideration should be given in terms of demographic implications such as the various challenges added by issues related to gender, race, and SES.…”

“…Defining normal family development can be an additional layer of complexity when a member of the family system is incarcerated (Tadros & Finney, 2018). Therefore, to incorporate incarcerated parents and other family members back into the family’s hierarchy and overall structure, a systemic lens has been recommended to be utilized (Tadros et al, 2019, 2020a; 2021). Further, it has been recently documented that a future challenge for researchers and policy makers will be to explore the best way of providing support to family members prior to incarceration instead of relying on treatments later on in the process (McCarthy & Adams, 2019).…”