The Experiences of Marriage and Family Therapists Working in Incarcerated Settings

Abstract

The prison incarceration rate in the United States is the highest in the world with 650 people incarcerated per 100,000. Unfortunately, marriage and family therapists (MFTs) are rarely employed in incarcerated settings in which prior research has shown the need for their unique services. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the experiences of three MFTs that have worked in incarcerated settings. Through autoethnographical methodology, MFTs highlight issues of mistrust, family engagement, stigma, hireability, lack of training, and cultural competencies. Strategies for overcoming barriers and future directions for training and research are provided.

Keywords:

• Corrections
• criminal justice
• juvenile justice
• incarceration
• marriage and family therapy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.