NJ Psychologist
A Perspective on the Coronavirus Pandemic in Correctional Facilities: Recommendations for Mental Health Practitioners By, Sharron Spriggs, Caitlin E. Krause, and Georgia M. Winters, PhD Department of Psychology and Counseling, Fairleigh Dickinson University
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ince the start of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is estimated that over 14 million individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, and over 600,000 individuals have died across 213 countries and territories (Worldometer, 2020). As a result, COVID-19 has been deemed a “once-in-a-century pandemic” (Gates, 2020). Government officials around the world have implemented numerous regulations to slow the spread of COVID-19, such as stay-at-home orders, school closures, and social distancing mandates (Harvard Medical School, 2020; Wamsley, 2020). For correctional settings, the spread of the coronavirus presents unique challenges due to a constellation of factors, including: 1) the overcrowding of prisons and jails, 2) the lack of resources at correctional facilities to decrease community spread, and 3) many inmates have a myriad of pre-existing health conditions that leave them especially vulnerable (Equal Justice Initiative, 2020; Vance, 2020). Ultimately, these unique conditions have produced unprecedented challenges for health care providers, including psychologists, working in jails and prisons. Therefore, the present article aims to provide an overview of the impact of COVID-19 on correctional facilities, followed by recommendations for psychologists working in these settings.
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