Mental Illness Workshop Assignment
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Mental Illness Workshop Assignment
RUNNING HEAD: MENTAL ILLNESS WORKSHOP 1
MENTAL ILLNESS WORKSHOP 10
Mental Illness Workshop
Mental illnesses in the correction facilities are common especially at Cook County Jail where more than half the inmates have mental health issues. In fact, some of the people
believe that in the American community the people with psychologically sick people are jailed rather than given the medical attention that they deserve. American policies are
deficient in addressing the issue of the mentally ill people since it criminalizes the issue. Far from critiquing the policies, it is essential that the prison wardens in the Cook County
Jail understand how to deal with the mentally ill prisoners and offer the assistance they need in seeing a counselor or accessing any medical care that they need. It is crucial that
the correctional officers learn how to manage inmates to assist them in having an improved welfare. It is for this reason that the correctional officers need the training to understand
the essential basics in managing the inmates with mental illness issues. The paper below will provide a workshop for all new correctional officers at Cook County Jail to help them
understand correctional counseling issues, clinical theory, and various programs used in managing the mentally ill persons.
History of Mental Illnesses at the Jail
Cook County Jail is renowned for having the largest number of mentally ill inmates with about 60% of the inmates who have a mental illness. It is estimated that an estimated 1 in 3
inmates in the jail has some mental illness problems. While about 400000 inmates in the United States have a mental illness, the majority of these people are incarcerated at Cook
County Jail. The Cook County Jail receives majority of the people suffering from mental illness. In fact, it is estimated that 25-40% of the individuals in the nation will be jailed
eventually. The statics indicate that majority of people in the nation suffering from mental illness will probably be in jail.
The majority of people in Cook County Jail are not in for any serious crime at all, but are in for petty crimes such as breaking in to find place to sleep and stealing food for survival.
In fact, others were arrested for self-medication indicating that the government had failed in providing the society with the required medical care. One official in the jail provided that
the inmates are brought in for offenses that arise from being mentally ill. According to the jail staff, the jail will continue to receive inmates with mental illness challenges for the
foreseeable future indicating that the correctional officers will always be dealing with cases of mental illness thus the need for their training (Kristof, 2014). The current case in the
Cook County Jail indicate that majority of the mentally ill people are getting the appropriate treatment from the jail premises than from the health centers. In Chicago, whenever
individuals are arrested, they are screened for mental illness before detention with having mental illness case almost a sure cause of incarceration. With the high number of inmates
at Cook County Jail being mentally ill it is only appropriate that the correctional officers be trained on how to deal with the mentally ill inmates.
Workshop Plan
Time
It is essential at Cook County Jail that all the new correctional officers undergo and 18-hour workshop with the first two weeks of being employed at the correctional facility. The
workshop plan for the new correctional officers will be carried out over a period of three days which are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On each day the officers will be undergoing
a 6-hour training session divided into three periods as indicated in the table below. The 18 hours allocated for the training are deemed enough for the officers to acquire the
necessary education and training to help them manage the mentally ill inmates at the correctional facilities.
08:00-10:00 Correctional Counseling 11:00-01:00 Programs 03:00-05:00 Clinical Theory Sessions
Introduction and Defining Mental Health
The workshop will start off with explaining the meaning of mental illness to the new officers and providing them with necessary information in dealing with individuals with mental
disorders. The correctional officers will be introduced to the traits and behaviors of persons with mental illness problems to make sure that they can identify the inmates with
mental illness problems. The officers will be able to understand that mental illness consists of a wide range of issues such as schizophrenia, depression, addictive behaviors among
others. Each of the conditions will have different traits, and the officers are expected to understand such traits to ensure that they can deal with the persons effectively. The
introduction will take place during the first period of the workshop and will serve as the basis for the entire workshop.
Correctional Counseling
Correctional counseling is an important aspect for individuals in the Cook County Jail, especially because most of these inmates suffer from mental disorders. The counseling
services that should be offered to these patients differ depending on the problem that each one of them is suffering from, and the fact that some of them do not want to attend
counseling services voluntarily. Some of the characteristics of these inmates are physical aggression, hostility, anger, and the lack of communication. Therefore, the correctional
counseling services offered to inmates should be tailored to the needs of each of the prisoners to ensure that they resolve disputes, alleviate distress, and adjust to their current
situation.
Moreover, there are several challenges that make it difficult to provide the necessary counseling services to the inmates. One of the problems is that the inmates have high levels of
distrust to the counselors, making it difficult for them to open up to the counselors. Cook County Jail aims at ensuring that the inmates be made comfortable in the counselor’s
office, so that they can be helped to overcome their mental health issues. It is necessary that the counseling of the inmates, more so those with mental health illness to ensure that
they open up as needed. However, some of the information should be disclosed to the relevant individuals if the inmates are a threat to the others in the facility.
Stigma Busting
There is a lot of stigmatization surrounding the inmates at Cook County Jail, and especially those that choose to seek the help of a correctional counselor to help them overcome
their mental issues. The stigmatization is one of the reasons that the inmates are uncooperative and do not want to attend counseling sessions voluntarily. Helping the inmates to
understand the need for correctional counseling is one of the ways through which the stigmatization bubble can be busted so that the inmates can continue to seek the help of the
counselor. It is necessary that the correctional officers understand that the stigma can also be internalized, making it difficult for such inmates to open up to the idea of counseling
at the correctional facility.
Providing Support
The correctional officers at the Cook County Jail are expected to provide the necessary support to the inmates even as they go through their counseling sessions. Some of the
inmates may fill isolated from the rest, especially when they are aware that they are viewed as mentally ill. However, the officers should encourage them to keep on pressing on and
attend all counseling sessions so that their well-being can be improved. In addition, support for the entire correctional counseling program should be given by the entire Cook
County Jail facility so that the program can be run smoothly, changed prisoners.
At the end of the workshop, the correctional officers will be assessed to ensure that they have learned much of what has been taught, and to gauge their readiness when joining the
program. The assessment will be done via a written test, requiring that the officers answer questions, which will be assessed at the end of the session and feedback provided for
each of the officers. In addition, the officers will also be given an opportunity to ask any questions regarding the correctional counseling program at the facility.
Clinical Theory
The Clinical theory provides that science should be integrated in clinical knowledge to ensure that there is understanding of psychological distress to help in promoting the
subjective well-being and personal improvement. The clinical theory is applied in preventing and relieving psychologically based problems. The clinical theory helps in the practice of
psychological assessment as well as psychotherapy. The clinical theory provides one with information and knowledge sufficient to understand any issues pertaining to mental
illness (Frie & Orange, 2013). The clinical theory borrows from key scientific principles to ensure that the analysis of psychological problems is efficient.
The clinical theory will be used to inform the correctional officers on the appropriate approaches to take with the inmates suffering from psychological problems. The theory will
equip the correctional officers with information that they can use to identify the inmates with mental illnesses and on how they can help them to better their lives. The theory tenets
help the correctional officers to understand the appropriate approach to handling the mentally ill inmates and to understand how to advice the inmates to ensure that they do not
engage in negative thoughts such as suicide. The theory therefore helps the officers to understand the issue of mental illness and its handling better, making them effective in
managing the inmates at Cook County Jail.
Programs
The program offered at Cook County Jail for the mentally ill persons is psychotherapy along with medication. Medication purely left to the counselors and medical specialists at the jail and not the correctional officers. However, the correctional officers should understand the role of the medical program to ensure that they are able to recommend the inmates to
the doctors or to understand them whenever they need medication. The workshop will ensure that the officers are aware of the program as a means of helping the inmates to
recover.
The other program is the psychotherapy which entails the inmates with mental illness problems talking to people. The program will entail talking to counselors as a means of
solving their problems and improving their welfare. Psychotherapy is essential in managing mental illnesses and is recommended as one of the most effective approaches to
managing the mental illness condition. The program basics will be taught to the correctional officers in which they will require to listen to the inmates as well as talk to them as a
means of helping them to live with their condition or to subdue their condition.
Budget Plan
The budget that will be incurred during the workshop will be in conducting the training of the correctional officers. The main provisional costs are listed below.
Activity Cost Educator’s fee $3600 Equipment and materials $5000 Administration costs $1500 Other costs $ 3000 Conclusion
The workshop will help Cook County Jail management in managing the inmates more appropriately by having well trained correctional officers. The workshop activities will be completed with the given time and the officers evaluated for their understanding of the education received. The key areas that will be included in the workshop are correctional counselling, clinical theory, and programs in the correctional facility for the mentally ill people. The workshop will help the correctional officers to improve their abilities in dealing with the mentally ill inmates and in helping the inmates to lead a better life. Cook County Jail is a correctional facility that has turned out to be more of a mental health hospital than a jail. It is therefore critical that the correctional officers in the jail learn how to handle the inmates to ensure a smooth learning of the jail.
References
Ford, M. (2015). Cook County Jail, America’s Largest Mental-Health Facility – The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/americas-largest-mental-hospital-is-a-jail/395012/
Frie, R., & Orange, D. (Eds.). (2013). Beyond postmodernism: New dimensions in clinical theory and practice. Routledge.
Kristof, N. (2014). Inside a Mental Hospital Called Jail – The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/opinion/sunday/inside-a-mental-hospital-called-jail.html
RUBRIC
Excellent Quality
95-100%
Introduction 45-41 points
The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned.
Literature Support
91-84 points
The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned.
Methodology
58-53 points
Content is well-organized with headings for each slide and bulleted lists to group related material as needed. Use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance readability and presentation content is excellent. Length requirements of 10 slides/pages or less is met.
Average Score
50-85%
40-38 points
More depth/detail for the background and significance is needed, or the research detail is not clear. No search history information is provided.
83-76 points
Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is little integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are included. Summary of information presented is included. Conclusion may not contain a biblical integration.
52-49 points
Content is somewhat organized, but no structure is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. is occasionally detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met.
Poor Quality
0-45%
37-1 points
The background and/or significance are missing. No search history information is provided.
75-1 points
Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is no integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are not included in the summary of information presented. Conclusion does not contain a biblical integration.
48-1 points
There is no clear or logical organizational structure. No logical sequence is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. is often detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met
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