For decades, society has responded to mental illness through punishment rather than care. Today, jails and prisons are the largest mental health institutions in the country. In the U.S., we house thousands of people who have untreated underlying mental health needs. Many justice-impacted individuals enter the criminal-legal system with histories of trauma, depression, anxiety, substance-use disorders, and other psychological challenges that incarceration worsens.
This episode explores the relationship between mental health and incarceration, including how untreated mental illness can contribute to criminal-legal system-involvement and how incarceration can deepen psychological harm. It also examines the importance of trauma-informed care, psychological healing, and community-based mental health support during reentry. Rather than treating mental illness as a public safety threat, this conversation invites us to consider what it would look like to approach mental health through a lens of healing, dignity, and public health.
Our guest is Dr. Sara Thomas, a research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine where her work examines the developmental consequences of incarceration.
