Mental Health History Essay

Mental Health has been a hot topic for many years. There have been many programs and laws put into place so that the mentally ill can get the care and treatment they need to live independently and maintain freedom in their communities. Although deinstitutionalization has occurred, the mentally ill are still being ‘institutionalized’ in our local jails, state and federal prisons. Why is this still happening if treatment and community based mental health care programs for those who suffer from mental illness are in place? Will history repeat itself; or are prisons and jails the new homes for those with mental illness in the United States?
Mental Health History
Many years ago, mental illness was viewed as a demonic possession or a religious punishment.

The percentage of inmates in prison that have schizophrenia or some kind of psychotic disorder is between 2.3 and 3.9; those with major depression are between 13.1 and 18.6 percent. Those who suffer from bi-polar disorder range between 2.1 and 4.3 percent. Forty percent of those with a severe mental illness spent time in jail or prison. They are "three times more likely to be in a jail or prison than in a mental health facility" (“Mental Illness in America’s Jails and Prisons,” 2014). About 3.7 percent of incarcerated men had psychotic illnesses according to a 2007 editorial written by Annasseril E. Daniel (2007). Ten percent of men had major depression, 65 percent had a personality disorder and 47 percent had an anti-social personality disorder. Out of the women who were incarcerated, four percent had psychosis, 42 percent had a personality disorder and 12 percent had major depression. Many of those incarcerated also suffered from illnesses such as PTSD, TBI's, ADHD and intellectual disabilities (Anasseril, 2007). In 2008 there was about 2,310,984 individuals in jails, federal and state prisons in the United States. Out of this number, about 231,000 prisoners had a severe mental illness. This number is equal to the population in Madison,

About 29 percent of the mentally ill incarcerated in 1992 were held with no charges against them. They were waiting for a bed at a hospital, psychiatric evaluation or transportation to some kind of psychiatric hospital. The mentally ill do not have adequate access to mental health services in jails; about 1 in 5. A lot of the mentally ill are arrested for misdemeanors. The mentally ill are also incarcerated for less serious charges than those who do not have a mental illness. If there are no charges available, those with a mental illness are usually charged with disorderly conduct. AODA charges are also quite frequent when it comes to the mentally ill. Families will also use incarceration as a way to get their mentally ill family member treatment. Priority for treatment is usually given to those with a mental illness who have been arrested because of a family member's request. (“Jails and Prisons,”