The National Science Foundation has honored a renowned psychologist who once taught college classes at San Quentin by awarding her $25,000 to research how violence affects inmates during incarceration.
Counseling and treatment for victims of prison violence should begin during their incarceration, and once released, community support services should give aftercare, according to Ashley Schappell, the award recipient.
“I think that she seemed very smart and highly motivated,” said Dr. Jody Lewen, executive of Prison University Project. “I find it very exciting to see her work getting this recognition, because I find her research question to be extremely important.”
The affects of prison violence have received little attention by federal researchers, according to Medical Press, an online medical news source.
“We know that being exposed to violence and being victimized increases depression, anxiety and incidents of post-traumatic stress disorder,” Schappell told Rutgers Today.
Inmates who are released after being incarcerated for long periods should get professional help from a psychologist or psychiatrist in order to successfully ease back into the community, according to Schappell.
“Prisoners who tend to be victimized are people that I see over and over again. They get released and they come back. Some have been there their whole lives. Even though it’s scary, it’s all they know and they feel more comfortable there,” said Schappell.
“As I learned more about the prison system and the injustices, it struck me as something that needed to be addressed. Even though they’re inmates, they’re human, and this is a human rights issue.”
“The cost of failing to treat them (inmates) can be high, and if you don’t think of their futures, we’re all going to be paying for it,” Schappell said.
