With the complexities of the justice system, inmates are often viewed by society as less human — less of a person for their crimes and time spent inside of the penitentiary center — and left to themselves to reckon with the intense social and mental effects of imprisonment as a result. David Gussak details this by saying “prison life can cause psychological distress and aggravate and intensify preexisting conditions” (“The Effectiveness of Art Therapy in Reducing Depression in Prison Populations”), and to cope with this, prisons claim to offer therapeutic treatment to all people in prisons who need it.
The prevalence of mental illness in prison is often underreported too; a recent study from Seth J. Prins states that “in the present review, estimates for current major depression ranged from 9% to 29%, for bipolar disorder from 5.5% to 16.1%” (“Prevalence of mental illnesses in US State prisons: a systematic review”) for current inmates, and with these numbers, there are still gaps and inmates that go unreported with any mental struggles they face which could alter the numbers greatly.
Yet even with the therapy prisons offer to address these staggering numbers, there are barriers. For many inmates, prison life is about survival; there are fights, gangs forming in prisons, and a hierarchy that is esoteric to the grueling life inside of a prison. So being seen attending therapy in prison shows a vulnerability that inmates don’t want to show — they fear they will lose their reputation and fear appearing “weak” or “vulnerable” (Gussak). In its place, some prisons have begun using art therapy. This minimizes the verbal vulnerability some inmates avoid and fear, which has also allowed more people to get the therapy help they need.
Art therapy itself consists of creating any images someone wants through mediums such as drawing, clay making, painting, and some prisons have instruments. Beth Mirriam writes in To Find a Voice: Art Therapy in a Women's Prison that this form of therapy “evokes self-awareness” and integrates “different aspects of the self and human experience” to alleviate any mental struggles from before imprisonment and those caused by residing in a prison. Mirriam also details how it has helped inmates who have withdrawn from social engagements; the option to communicate how they are feeling through art — a neutral form of therapy that doesn’t come with as many risks — alleviates isolation, immediate crisis situations, and provides an open opportunity for discussions if the inmates want to talk.
In case studies, art therapy has been shown to unlocked repressed memories and childhood incidents that still plague inmates (Mirriam), and it provides a form of exploring their own mentalities. Some emotions can’t be spoken or communicated, and art therapy provides a safe outlet for imprisoned people to express what they are feeling. It is essential, and it is supportive of a greater change in attitudes toward the struggles of imprisoned people.
And yet, mental illness in inmates is just one aspect of the entangled and damaging web of mass incarceration in the U.S. Supporting and promoting art therapy in prisons is just one way to remedy the situation imprisoned people are in until mass incarceration and the conditions and life inside of prisons can be properly addressed. It is just a step in the right direction for now.
References
Beth Merriam (1998) To Find a Voice, Women & Therapy, 21:1, 157-171, DOI: 10.1300/J015v21n01_04
Gussak, David. “The Effectiveness of Art Therapy in Reducing Depression in Prison Populations.” International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, vol. 51, no. 4, Aug. 2007, pp. 444–460, doi:10.1177/0306624X06294137.
Prins, Seth J. “Prevalence of mental illnesses in US State prisons: a systematic review.” Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) vol. 65,7 (2014): 862-72. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201300166
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