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Abstract: 

Mental health issues are becoming more frequent and more severe as higher risk, higher need offenders flood into community corrections facilities. The “what works” literature discusses the need for a high-intensity (dosage) of cognitive behavioral treatment for clients with the highest risk/need. For many offenders, those needs now include severe mental health problems inclusive of a variety of accompanying behaviors. Staff who have no training in mental health and very little experience interacting with these individuals are very much at a disadvantage. Training line staff to become good observers of mental health and addiction symptoms and to document and pass on those observations to clinical professionals will aid in ensuring that clients receive the help they need.

Keywords: Mental health, correctional staff training, depression symptoms, addiction, staff observation

Affiliations:  1: Alvis.