Mass Incarceration and mental health effects
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we focused on highlighting the impact of incarceration on individuals and communities.
It is estimated that 2.3 million are incarcerated on any given day in America. Did you know that incarcerated individuals receive poor or no mental health assistance during their serving time or after release?
Despite this trend, we do not discuss the impact of incarceration enough in mental health spaces.
“Working at Rikers Island wasn’t in my career plan when I was in grad school because I did not even know that was an option. There was no mention of incarceration and its impact on people. I was in for a shock when I started working at Rikers Island. Nothing in my education prepared me for this work”. One of our therapists explained after working at Rikers Island Correctional Facility.
With 2.3 million incarcerated, the number multiplies when we begin to look at families and communities. Incarcerated individuals experience phases, and in each phase, their mental health is being affected. Check out our Instagram post to learn more about it
Incarcerated individuals are not the only ones affected. Family members have their processes, and their mental health is also affected.
Check out our Instagram post to learn more about it
Children of incarcerated individuals are by far the most affected. Children do not entirely understand the situation and tend to “fill in the blanks.” Depending on their age, children go through their process, and their mental health is affected differently.
Check out our Instagram post to learn more about it
Mass incarceration has the potential to affect a whole community. There are no chances of escaping if no help or support is provided. In other words, if we don’t offer solutions, we are contributing to the problems. There are people incarcerated who need mental health services instead of incarceration.
Centering Wholeness Counseling understands the amount of need that there is. Most of the people incarcerated are Black and Brown individuals from under-resourced communities and over-policed neighborhoods, and we are happy to provide help and support for them. As mental health professionals, we ought to create a space for grieving, exploring the confusion and redemption.
We understand not many people have access to friends, family, or sometimes the money to invest in a counselor. Based on this need, we have created Community Conversations. This will be a safe space and FREE where people will be equipped to learn how to prioritize their Mental Wellness.
Here are some tips from a professional therapist to help prioritize your mental health and cope with unpleasant news:
Unplug: take time away from the news or social media
Filter the news: curate what you want to see, hear, or listen to. You block or mute certain things on your feed if they are beneficial to your mental health.
You do not have to have an opinion about everything that happens.
Take a five-minute mental health walk.
Schedule time with friends and family.