| (May Newsletter 2003 - Page 4) Sensitivity Training today has siblings comprising more than two dozen names; among them are: Reality Therapy, Group Therapy, Conflict Management, Gestalt Therapy, Planned Change, Mind Set, Nude Therapy, Marathon Therapy, Group Dynamics, Group Confession, Role Playing, Social Psychology, Human Relations Lab, Sensory Awareness Groups, Conflict Resolution and Encounter Groups, to cite some. Although the state has recognized that institutional care for persons with developmental disabilities has been scientifically demonstrated to be detrimental to people’s basic development, including social development, development of self-determination, and the development of the basic skills of daily living, there are other serious concerns in regard to the detrimental affects of long-term incarceration. This needs to be addressed since the program has not released anyone in approx. 10 years. Residents face a potential life sentence within the MSOP and are treated as “MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISONERS”. Some of the detrimental affects of long-term incarceration come from various studies conducted by various individuals in a variety of professional fields, as follows: The Effects of Long-term Incarceration Until the 1980s, most studies and theories concerning the long-term effects of incarceration were aimed at substantiating the belief that lengthy incarceration inevitably lead to a systematic physical, emotional and mental deterioration of the long-term inmate. It is therefore imperative that we address the potentially damaging aspects of incarceration in order to improve each offender’s chance for rehabilitation, as the protection our communities hinge on treatment and reintegration of offenders. Deprivation Because imprisonment necessitates a substantial curtailment of an individual’s freedom and many other basic rights, deprivation is an inherent feature of being incarcerated. In a study of long-term inmates in Missouri, Sabbath and Cowles (1992) found that the most serious problems for long-term prisoners included travel distance for loved ones, privacy during visitation, privacy in cells, and crowding. These problems are indicative of various forms of deprivation. An examination of the “pains of imprisonment,” carried out by Graham Sykes looks at four basic deprivations concerning liberty, autonomy, personal security, and heterosexual relations (Sykes, 1966). Sociological research of recent years has shed light on the effects of these deprivations. Deprivation of liberty Few of the conditions imposed on inmates are as severe as the loss of liberty. Inmates, particularly those serving their sentences in maximum-security facilities or in special handling units (SHUs), must live in a world where their freedom of movement is rigidly restricted and regulated. For long-term inmates, liberty may be deprived for substantial portions of their lives and can have a serious effect on their mental health. The inmate’s loss of liberty occurs at two levels: first by confinement to the correctional institution and second, by confinement within the institution. At the first level, offenders are cut off from family, relatives and friends, producing what can be a painful deprivation and frustration in terms of lost emotional relationships, loneliness and boredom. Most of their waking hours are spent within the confines of their cells. (Note: Many of the effects mentioned here would correlate with being detained within the MSOP, which is for the most part, a MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON.) The second level of loss of liberty occurs when offenders are put in solitary confinement where sensory stimulation is quite limited. Prolonged periods of isolation may have negative impact on inmates as indicated by studies conducted by Cormier and Williams (1966) and Grassian (1983) (cited in Bonta & Gendreau, 1990). Many mental health experts would argue that solitary confinement is, for the majority of offenders who spend long periods in solitary, a psychologically damaging punishment. Dr. Henry Weinstein, a psychiatrist who has studied American prisoners in solitary confinement, discovered that such extreme isolation results in a variety of psychological symptoms ranging from “memory loss to severe anxiety to hallucinations to delusions and, under the [most] severe cases of sensory deprivation, people go crazy”. (CNN, 1998, p. 2) The almost complete loss of liberty that solitary confinement entails is dehumanizing and may hurt the inmate’s potential for rehabilitation. (Note: The MSOP has solitarily confined individuals for several months at a time, some for approx. a year at a time. Solitary confinement within the MSOP is called “Protective Isolation” or “Unit Protective Isolation”. Another form of seclusion used by the MSOP is called “Level-A-Restrictions”.) Deprivation of autonomy The world of the inmate is characterized by a multitude of rules and commands designed to control his or her behavior. Yet, some argue that the inmate is not much worse off than the individual in the free community who is regulated in a great many aspects of his or her life by the dictates of custom. However, regulation by a bureaucratic staff is felt far differently than regulation by custom. Most prisoners express an intense hostility against their far-reaching dependence on the decisions of corrections officials, which is what makes their restricted ability to make choices one of the major deprivations of imprisonment. (Sykes, 1966) Long-term inmates often lose their sense of self-efficacy once autonomy is taken away. Offenders are told where to live and when and what to eat, they are required to wear regulation clothing, perform certain jobs, and follow numerous rules. (Santos, 1995) |
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