Prision Psychological Treatment: A Psycho-Legal Perspective

Prision Psychological Treatment

Abstract

Prison psychology has as its field of action the evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of persons deprived of liberty, this implies that the professional has basic knowledge of the legislation applicable to Social Reinsertion and Prison System, it is also required to have extensive knowledge and preparation to evaluate and treat personality disorders, psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, and other particulars such as domestic violence, pornography, impulsivity, aggressive behavior and others that mark the applicable laws. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze prison psychological treatment from a psycholegal perspective through a qualitative study using the documenta method. Among the results, an overview of the historical evolution of prison treatment, the laws applicable to prison treatment and the current social reintegration model is offered, in addition to making visible the challenges of prison psychology and highlighting the need for institutions of higher education that offer a psychology degree to include legal, forensic and prison psychology as a basic subject. From this, it is concluded the relevance of going beyond the clinical model, to make visible the mental and psychological health of the person deprived of liberty that, in sum, contributes to their social reintegration.