I’m a female counselor at a medium security men’s prison in a New England state, providing behavioral health treatment to inmates. I will not disclose any names or identifying information, but ask away about anything else.
I’m a counselor at a prison. AMA
r/AMA
Comments
Do many of the men understand what they’ve done and/or express remorse?
Tell me about the worst patient you’ve ever had (minus any identifying information, of course). Like the worst things he did.
Have you ever been concerned for your safety? Like are there any men there who have assaulted women in the past that you are afraid of?
Tell me about a patient you had that you genuinely believe there is no hope for.
Do you deal with a lot of vulgarity? Are you afraid that you might accidentally word something wrong and offend them?
How much money do you make?
How much are you restricted from actually helping prisoners due to them note being valued/admin demanding cheaper alternatives
Thank you for the work you’re doing. This is truly not meant to be a loaded question but honestly curious, do you think there are people there who are beyond help? Or conversely anyone who truly doesn’t belong to be there? (because of say rehabilitation)
How many of the people you work with have had or have substance problems
What are some common issues you see men facing in prison?
Have you developed any connections with the men you treat?
Is this federal or state prison?
How often do you find education to be the cause of someone committing a crime?
How do you deal with the mental stress that you must endure from all the sessions and have you ever reach a breaking point?
What’s your go-to soup recipe?
To what extent are the men affected by stressful or degrading conditions behind bars?
Do you find a lot of them lack accountability for their own actions?
What kinds of things/programs do you think would genuinely help them to become productive members of society when they’re out? I’ve seen one prison that does dog training and that seemed to help them have a purpose and a skill that they can use on the outside. They also form bonds with the dogs and sometimes that’s the only living thing they’ve had attachments to in their lives. Dog grooming? Art programs? Do you think learning a trade would be helpful? Like electrical, HVAC, or plumbing? Obviously it would be hard to have real world experience while inside but maybe they could build a fake home on the property that’s just for training. Have a plumber or electrician come in and break something or make some kind of issue so the guys can figure it out and fix it.
What percentage of them were sexually abused and did that contribute to them ending up in prison?
What kind of treatment do you use? The typical CBT? Are there group therapy sessions or are they all individual? What about medications? You may not be a psychiatrist, but do the inmates receive antidepressants, mood stabilizers, etc?
What is your advice to someone whos scared of ending up in prison wrongfully?
How many are repeat offenders?
I have two questions, the first is what does your education background look like? The second is, do you find it fulfilling?
What are some things that you see that really irk you give up off vibe or downright scare you?
[deleted]
[removed]
Be careful of burn out doing that job
What your top 3 favorite films?
Hey do you think being a pen pal for a lifer would be helpful? I am considering writing a random inmate and trying for friendship. Am I crazy?
Do you find a lot of people you treat are sorry for their crimes, not just sorry they got caught for their crimes, or are they not at all concerned with what they did?
For inmates (if any) that had a relatively successful career and/or worked in white collar jobs at good level, what are the chances to recover their career after prison?
Nice I work at Norfolk
Ever catch an inmate gunnin ya down?