Prison Suicides: My Inmate’s State of Mind is Deteriorating. What Should I do?

Prison Suicides: My Inmate’s State of Mind is Deteriorating. What Should I do?

There is a very thin line between alerting a prison or jail to an inmate’s problems and directly causing the inmate problems. In most cases, drawing attention to the inmate creates a bad situation for him. But in some cases, there really isn’t any choice. Prison Inmates If the inmate is making statements about harming himself and you believe him to be serious, it is right to seek help. Perhaps a call to the prison chaplain will prompt a few counseling sessions and that might take care of it. Let your inmate know that you are fearful and plan to call the chaplain out of your concern. Of course, if your inmate is an atheist, or is dead set against the faith the chaplain represents, this would be a bad idea. In this case, you might call his prison counselor. A prison counselor isn’t an actual mental health counselor but oversees the inmate’s prison stay. The counselor can arrange for a mental health evaluation. Related: Mentally ill inmates often leave jail sicker than when they entered. County Jail Inmates County jails are often more lenient about visitors than prisons are. In many cases you can ask a local pastor to visit the inmate at the jail and counsel him. If this is not an appropriate course of action, you can also call the jail directly and ask what the process is to have a mental health evaluation carried out. Final thoughts: Before alerting the facility and putting the inmate on their radar, go over everything in your mind that is causing the concern to be sure it is a true issue, not just an angry inmate letting off steam.   You might be interested in: Marriage Counseling program in prison