Handbook of Correctional Mental Health

Clinicians who work on the frontlines of correctional mental health know that the challenges are only increasing. Not only is the proportion of inmates with mental disorders growing at a rate that exceeds that of the correctional population as a whole, but this group is expanding at both ends of the aging continuum, so that increasing numbers of both geriatric and juvenile offenders require assessment and treatment. Changing patient demographics and evolving treatment modalities make it essential that psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and other professionals who serve the prison population have access to the most practical, up-to-date, and comprehensive resource. Handbook of Correctional Mental Health, now in an expanded, second edition, is that resource.

This book addresses key concepts to ensure that the reader meets the current standard of care for inmates through all phases of the criminal justice system. In 20 state-of-the-art chapters, nationally recognized providers and correctional mental health experts address the most pressing issues facing clinicians. Unique to this edition, the Handbook: ? Summarizes the literature regarding unique populations observed in a correctional environment, thereby assisting the provider in tailoring treatment to various target populations.? Provides a clear overview of both malpractice law and the concept of "deliberate indifference" that aids the reader in understanding the legal requirements for providing care and minimizing risks of lawsuits.? Educates clinicians on how to differentiate feigned versus legitimate mental health symptoms, and how to understand and interpret inmate motivations for psychiatric malingering.? Discusses important administrative aspects regarding documentation issues, quality assurance, and practicing under a consent decree.? Provides useful tables throughout the text with key summary points emphasized.? Includes five new, clinically focused chapters on the assessment and treatment of inmates with substance use disorders, geriatric offenders, juvenile offenders, inmates with self-injurious behaviors, offenders who have experienced various traumas during their lives, and inmates housed on maximum security units and death row.

Other titles in the field are either out-of-date or limited in scope. By contrast, this new edition of Handbook of Correctional Mental Health includes everything mental health professionals need to provide the highest standard of care to this growing -- and complex -- patient population.

Charles L. Scott, M.D., is Chief of the Division of Psychiatry and the Law, Director of the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California.