Prison Rehab Doesn't Exist

This is the response I received from a prison psychologist when I made a desperate plea for guidance to deal with the psychological damage I suffered while in prison (posted yesterday). It was delivered to me via institutional mail. The memorandum was signed and dated.

Response:

"I agree that your environment limits the options available to cope with various stressors. Especially if new learning has to take place in order to cope within of your current housing (i.e.-not using substances and sexual behavior). I think that your past and being able to identify the ways that you coped that were detrimental, shows that you have a large amount of insight and drive that will help you succeed when you leave DOC. I cannot fully understand the challenges of your situation, but I can empathize with your struggle.

As a clinician, your insight and intelligence is one of the greatest tools you have and I believe in the proper setting (mainly outside DOC) that you could begin to address your issues and learn new behaviors. You are clearly capable of learning new behaviors and beginning to develop new ways of looking at your environment to benefit you in a positive way. I do not want to discourage you, but sometimes waiting to address your issues in an environment personally conductive to change is a better option. Maintenance right now is the priority, especially refraining from hurting yourself, working to maintain charge free behavior, and setting goals that your can work on when you leave DOC. We all have our boundaries and limitations and have to learn to work within those.
. . .

For those who got lost in the words, what she really said was: Your right. You can't work on your problems until after you leave prison. For now, get by the best you can, but you're a smart man, you can do it by serving as your own clinician.

I've shared this exchange with you so you can see from hard evidence that prisons wouldn't provide psychological treatment to someone who was willing and very capable to receive it.

Now you can better comprehend why so many convicts don't learn how to be better people while they serve their sentence.

The citizens must change this by forcing political figures and policy makers to change the way prisons operate.

Always real;
Supaman Tion Terrell