In the United States of America, over 350,000 to 500,000 people suffering from severe mental illness are in jails and prisons, and this only represents 3.5% to 5% of 10 million people battling with serious mental illness in America (Verdolini, Pacchiarotti, & Köhler, 2018, p. 163). People suffering from mental illness in America also spend some of their time incarcerated or involved in one way or another with the criminal justice system that includes prosecutors, police officers, courts and probation departments. The individuals who undergo incarceration do not receive appropriate treatment and the support services that they need worsening the mental health situation that eventually leads to longer time in jails and prison in comparison to their counterparts without mental illness. This essay aims at discussing the issues concerning the mentally ill and the criminal justice system in the United States of America.
A study conducted in America in the year 2018 shows that the primary contributing factors to mental illness include alcohol abuse, social anxiety, and conduct disorder, among other factors. The findings of the study indicated that women in America are likely to suffer from social anxiety and mood disturbance in comparison to their male counterparts. American males, on the other hand, are susceptible to suffer from conduct disorder and alcohol abuse in contrast to women. The increasing number of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system in America is causing overcrowding in jail and federal states prison putting unbearable pressure to the criminal justice system and due to insufficient funds and inadequacy of treatment facilities. The statistics from The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that in the year 2018, 365,000 adults suffering from mental illness in America are in jail or prison and over 77,000 others are in parole or probation (Friedman & Camille, 2019). Mental illness mostly affects people who are not well off financially, and they experience another challenge of taking their loved once to receive appropriate treatment in various psychiatric treatment hospitals.
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Mental illness poses a significant challenge not only to the person suffering from a mental disorder but also the entire family. On the individual level, psychiatric disorders such as depression increase the chances of developing cardiovascular and metabolic complications. People suffering from mental illness are vulnerable to substance abuse, especially men who turn to alcohol when they experience depression. People suffering from mental illness are likely to experience high unemployment rate in comparison to the healthy people in the community (Department of Health and Human Services, 2019). On the family level, people who provide care to the mentally ill will have to spend most of their time providing unpaid care to the mentally ill individuals in the family.
On average, 8.4 million people in the United States provide care to one of the family member suffering from a mental or emotional health issue. Mental illness, therefore, affects the healthy life of both the sick person and the entire family because family members have to spend money and time to provide treatment and care to the patient. Mental illness also affects the whole country especially in terms of allocating resources to deal with the disease, for instance, the United States on average spend over $193.2 billion annually on treatment of various mental disorders among its citizens. Some of the policies are in place that ensures that families with challenges of raising resources for providing medication for mentally ill people in the family receive the appropriate support from the government. Prisons and jails in the United States have been providing free treatment to the people suffering from mental illnesses. Providing adequate psychiatric treatment to all people, regardless of economic status, is essential in enhancing the general public health of the citizens.
Mental disorder in New York City has been increasing every year, where 1 out of 5 people in the city have a symptom of mental illness. In New York City, Solara Mental Health Treatment Center uses Premier Seaside Psychological Treatment program to provide psychiatric treatment to patients. The primary mission of the program is to provide sufficient medication to young and adults in the city who have various mental illnesses. The treatment centre also offers social and emotional support to the families as well as enhancing early identification of mental disorder in the population in the city first treatment (Solara Mental Health Treatment Center, 2019). In the psychiatric treatment centre, well-trained personnel are responsible for providing therapy to patients suffering from different mental illnesses. The treatment aims to ensure that patients fully recover from the mental disorder and ensure that the individual has a better life because psychological complication affects the ability of an individual to secure employment. Mental illness in young people affects their ability to complete education changing their future lives. Since mental illness have been increasing among the people in the United States, it is essential to ensure that there is a proper psychiatric treatment across all the population in the community for better living.
Studies show mental illnesses have been increasing in America due to factors such as alcohol abuse, social anxiety, and conduct disorder affecting all the population from the young to the old. Mental illness affects the healthy life of the patient as well as that of the family members. People with mental disorder such as depression can lead to the development of complications like cardiovascular issues. Family members also have various challenges from financial to emotional when providing care to the mentally ill member of the family. Solara Mental Health Treatment Center is one of the facilities in New York City that provide mental treatment to all the patients suffering from mental disorders.
References
Department of Health and Human Services . (2019, August 20). Retrieved December 13, 2019, from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminstration: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2018-nsduh-detailed-tables
Friedman, M., & Camille, A. (2019, June 10). MEDPAGETODAY . Retrieved December 13, 2019, from General Psychiatry: https://www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/generalpsychiatry/80359
Solara Mental Health Treatment Center . (2019, November 21). Retrieved December 13, 2019, from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/treatment-rehab/residential-inpatient/ny/new-york/377145?sid=5df35bd20e71b&ref=2&tr=ResultsName
Verdolini, N., Pacchiarotti, I., & Köhler, C. A. (2018). Violent criminal behavior in the context of bipolar disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 239, 161-170.
