It is clear that adequate academic and continuing education/training for correctional mental health professionals is imperative if their practice is to be effective. To help shape such training, the clinical and correctional knowledge ranked most meaningful and relevant by psychologists practicing in federal prisons is determined. Overall, results suggest nine core bodies of knowledge representing a mix of clinical (e.g., psychopathology, suicide prevention, psychopharmacology) and prison-based domains (e.g., interdepartmental communications, safety, confrontation avoidance) form the heart of their work. In terms of where such knowledge was obtained, graduate school is frequently endorsed for the more clinical domains, but the correctional domains are transmitted namely through on-the-job training. Recommendations for training psychologists to practice in corrections include the development of a two-tiered training strategy that offers a curriculum in basic psychological knowledge unique to corrections and an advanced curriculum that builds on foundational clinical knowledge obtained in graduate school.

There is a growing emphasis in corrections on the treatment of inmates with drug problems. The typical method of evaluating drug treatment programs is to examine how the treatment affects the inmate in terms of relapse and recidivism. This study examines the institutional consequences of operating a therapeutic community located in a medium/high-security male institution. The effect on management is examined from a perspective of institutional disorder. Disorders, from less severe inmate rule violations to more serious assaults, and rates of grievance filing are examined within the treatment unit and compared with rates in the general population. The inmate's perception of the environment, whether in treatment or non-treatment, is also examined. Findings indicate that in-prison therapeutic communities have lower levels of disorder than nontreatment housing units and tend to produce more positive perceptions of the living environment among the inmates living there. The impact of these findings for prison management is discussed.

To date, only a small number of government and peer-reviewed studies have examined the mental health of federal offenders. Although these studies provide isolated bits of information they have yet to be organized into a coherent body of knowledge from which clinicians, administrators and policy makers can inform their work. As a first step in constructing this knowledge and understanding the possible mental health needs of this population (currently America's largest correctional population), this paper delineates the available government and peer-reviewed studies on federal offenders, highlights their convergent findings, and suggests opportunities for growth in research, administration and policy.

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