An overlooked area in the education of future psychologists is the practice of psychology in a correctional setting. This is a gross disservice to the field, especially as the population of incarcerated Americans continues to rise, along with the demand for psychologists. In my relatively short tenure as a clinical psychologist in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), I have had the opportunity to experience a variety of settings, including working with multiple security levels from a federal half-way house to the federal camp, low, medium, and high security levels (i.e., penitentiary). Additionally, I have worked in a psychiatric hospital, juvenile correctional facilities, including a boot-camp, and in private practices. Practicing psychology in a correctional setting is a truly unique experience. Practicing it in a federal institution is even more of a juggling act. The BOP maintains a strict “correctional worker first” mentality. In other words, regardless of whatever job you were hired for, including if you are a psychologist, you are first and foremost a correctional officer responsible for the daily securing of federal inmates. As a psychologist, this might mean arriving one day at work to find that you have been assigned to serve as a housing officer monitoring inmates in their units or posted in a tower with M-16s, shotguns, 9mms, and various “less-than-lethals” within arm’s reach. These are truly situations that even the best training program cannot completely prepare future psychologists for. With this journal I hope to provide an inside glimpse into the world of psychology within the BOP.
I work at a federal prison complex. That means we have 4 institutions: a camp, a low security, a medium security, and a high security or penitentiary. I am assigned the the United States Penitentiary (USP). However, in recent years there has been a move in the BOP toward complex-wide departments. In other words, while there were once independent psychology departments in each complex institution, now there is one psychology department responsible for providing services to the entire complex. Therefore, while my official posting is at the USP, I have the opportunity to work at all security levels. Still, the demands of my USP are so high that I typically perform all of my duties there.
May 2, 2008
May 9, 2008
3 responses so far ↓
1 Chris // May 3, 2008 at 2:48
Not sure what the worth of this is. Perhaps it might be better just sharing this diary with your counsellor or whoever debriefs you. It may be cathartic for you to make your diary public but throwing it up on the internet is of little interest to most people. Nevertheless take some points for trying something out.
2 Maestro Satori // May 3, 2008 at 12:25
Thanks for the feedback, Chris. I agree that the target population for the diary is rather exclusive. Unfortunately, the image most people have about prisons comes from TV and movies, and is not the most accurate. The intent of this journal is to help psychology students who may be considering a career in corrections get a glimpse into the federal system. Also, there are some who may just find it interesting, if not enlightening in some way to have a sort of tour into a real prison environment.
3 Dr. H // Apr 16, 2009 at 13:47
I think this diary is an awesome idea. I too, am a prison psychologist and find myself embarking on various adventures daily! As a matter of fact, I reported to work today to find myself assigned as a housing unit officer. I believe that this unique component of the job adds a different skill set to our traning as psychologists. More people need to know what its really like ” on the inside.”
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