Applying the recovery model in prisons and jails

Abstract Mental health professionals and substance use providers have worked with “recovery” concepts for many years. Because correctional settings have become a place where mental health services are increasingly needed and delivered, recovery principles must also apply to them. Prisons and jails, however, are built around confinement and the general principles of sentencing that include retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. Thus, it might seem that there is such a fundamental distinction between a prison or jail and a place of treatment that a “recovery” orientation seems inappropriate or unrealistic. This chapter addresses recovery, describing various ways of defining this construct. It also reviews potential considerations related to recovery-oriented services that may be feasible and even helpful within correctional environments and describes some of the tensions between recovery and responsibility in the context of working with an incarcerated population. Finally, it presents recommendations for combining evidence-based treatments for incarcerated individuals with a recovery-based model for those with mental health needs.