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Abstract: 

This article is a response to “The Cell-Front Interview,” by Dr. Terry Kupers, which appeared in Correctional Mental Health Report in the Summer of 2022. Kupers’s article argued that using cell-front contacts in segregation units to conduct any clinical activity—outside of brief mental health rounds, which are designed to detect (not treat) psychiatric decompensation—is an “egregious ethical violation” (p. 78). In this rebuttal, the authors explain why they believe Kupers’s position is too severe and oversimplifies matters. They cite a number of situations where cell-front interviews are necessary and beneficial, and provide specific guidelines for cell-front contacts that avoid the ethical and confidentiality problems these encounters can raise. A brief rejoinder by Dr. Kupers, largely agreeing with many of Drs. Canning and Obegi’s ideas, is also included at the conclusion of the main article.

Keywords: Patient-Clinician Confidentiality; Solitary Confinement; Medical Ethics

Affiliations:  1: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; 2: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.