Take All Prisoners

I'm a psych student in undergrad right now, and what you do just happens to be exactly what I want to do. I feel like prisoners are an underserved community, and I want to be able to make a difference with my degree, and so I want to work in prisons after my graduate studies.

I was wondering, what is your theoretical orientation? How did you decide to work in prisons? Is this where you thought you would end up when you began studying psychology?

Also, I'm interested in how you treat personality disorders and what kind of success you have; I know that treatments have so far been far less effective treating these types of disorders as opposed to depression and anxiety issues.

You are doing great work, and you should be very proud.

i've wanted to this for years. i was taking criminal justice and psychology, but had a turn of events and had to drop out. i'm trying to go back, but i don't know what i would need to do to get to this point of doing this kind of work or how i would even go about getting a job. any advice?

props - you're doing wonderful stuff.

Kudos to you, your admirable resolve and your work! I am very impressed. I went through a similar journey and am powering through an online degree in Criminal Justice (http://info.saintleo.edu/col/advising/Plan_BACJ2009.cfm) right now at Saint Leo University and hope to one day work in the same field as you do.

i just recently graduated high school im attending a community college for now and absolutly love psychology! Ive been wanting to be a psychologist for prisoners for quite some time now, i just have no idea exactly how to get started no one in my family has gone to any sort of school, i come from a low income family and feel really lost , im taking all the right courses in order to transfer but i would like to know just how you did it? what was it like? anything just to give me a better idead of what im getting into......anything

If you happen to go to prison yourself how would you get into this field, I would like to help prisoners deal with issues. I was a classic ADHD that was off and on Meds most of my life and ultimately made a bad choice. I would like to complete my education and do this type of work. Any chance for an ex con to do this?

Bravo to you for your fine work and dedication. It's great to see young people comment that you've inspired them.

I'm very interested in ethical issues you and your colleagues face. It's understandable that staff and institutional security must always be paramount, but an incredible number of U.S. prisons appear downright Draconian.

Overcrowding is obvious, but there are other severe issues including prolonged isolation (the hole), denial of diagnosis & treatment (understaffed), restriction of medications (anti-anxiety sedatives are deemed recreational), and physical abuse (rare)to name a few.

The best(worst)example of these conditions is most glaringly seen in California where federal courts actually seized control of state prisons' medical delivery system. I'm amazed that prior to this intervention, there was not a cacophony of outrage from professional staff and their associated professional groups (AMA, APA, etc)

While I understand the need for all of us to make a living, that liveliehood should not compromise personal nor professional ethics. The arguement that "We do the best we can within conditions..." is reminiscient of historically evil conditions that were tacitly (at least) condoned via "reactive" participation. The machine doesn't work if the cogs don't move.

I'd very much like to hear your views on this issue. Also, do you feel that there should be a unified professional platform (APA?) to address prison-specific issues? I do.

Thanks again for your hard work and insightful posts.

I am currently a psychology student at the University of Phoenix online, I have two months before I graduate with my Bachelor of Science in Psychology. I have been thinking about a career in Criminal psychology and have been reading a lot about you and would like to know a little more.

Questions:

1. In what setting do you practice? How long have you been practicing?
2. what are the specialties or areas of clinical focus?
3. What are the most common disorders you treat?
4. Do you have any special certifications or training beyond your original graduate coursework?
5. How do you approach therapy or treatment? Do you use specific modalities, techniques, or interventions?
6. What ethical and legal issues do you think are the most challenging or common?
7. Do you have an opinion on where you think the field of psychology is heading?
8. What do you enjoy most about your work?
9. What advise would you provide as aspiring psychologist or therapist?

:)

Sincerely,

D. Livingston