How is Family Therapy Discussed in the Literature on Incarceration?: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The United States has the largest incarcerated population in the world, and more than half of this population suffers from mental health disorders. A systemic review was conducted on how family therapy is discussed in the literature on incarceration using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The search yield 194 articles with only 27 meeting criteria and being fully reviewed. This review magnifies the lack of family therapy inclusion in the literature concerning criminology and criminal justice. There is a lack of family therapists employed in incarcerated settings which emulates the absence of literature. The goal of this paper is to shed light on this issue and to call for more research that includes family therapy in the discussion surrounding incarceration.

Keywords:

• Criminal justice
• family therapy
• incarceration
• PRISMA
• systematic review