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Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research
Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 2/2018

01-03-2018 | Original Article

“It’s Not Like Therapy”: Patient-Inmate Perspectives on Jail Psychiatric Services

Authors: Leah A. Jacobs, Sequoia N. J. Giordano

Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research | Issue 2/2018

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Abstract

Jails may serve an important public health function by treating individuals with psychiatric problems. However, scholars debate the service qualities that can best achieve this aim. Some suggest the possibility of comprehensive psychiatric services in jails, while others recommend a narrower focus on basic elements of care (assessments, medication management, and crisis intervention). To date, this debate remains uninformed by service recipients. This qualitative study addresses this gap by illuminating patient-inmate perspectives on jail psychiatric services. Patient-inmate experiences indicate that the jail environment is incongruent with the provision of comprehensive psychiatric services. Thus, program administrators would best serve patient-inmates by strengthening basic services and connections to community-based providers who can provide comprehensive and effective care.
Footnotes
1
The authors borrow the term “patient-inmate” from Jordan (2012), who uses the label to symbolize the dual role these individuals embody in correctional contexts as both psychiatric patients and correctional institution inmates.
 
2
Serious mental disorder diagnoses commonly include major depressive disorder, depressive disorder not otherwise specified (NOS), bipolar disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, and psychotic disorder (NOS) (American Psychiatric Association [APA] 2000; Kessler et al. 2005).
 
3
These data are gleaned from a regional audit of this jail system. Institutional Review Board requirements, however, prohibit the disclosure of the exact study site to protect participant anonymity. Thus, in accordance with this restriction, we omit this reference.
 
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Metadata
Title
“It’s Not Like Therapy”: Patient-Inmate Perspectives on Jail Psychiatric Services
Authors
Leah A. Jacobs
Sequoia N. J. Giordano
Publication date
01-03-2018
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research / Issue 2/2018
Print ISSN: 0894-587X
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3289
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-017-0821-2

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