Impact of a mental health training course for correctional officers on a special housing unit.

OBJECTIVE This study determined the impact of a ten-hour mental health training program developed by the Indiana chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-Indiana) for correctional officers on a prison special housing ("supermax") unit. METHODS The training was delivered to all of the correctional officers on the unit in five weekly sessions and was repeated 15 months later for new unit staff. The number of incidents reported by unit staff in standard monthly reports, consisting of use of force by the officers and battery by bodily waste on the officers by the offenders, was compared for the nine months before and after both training sessions. RESULTS Attendance at the initial training ranged from 48 to 57 officers per session, and on the basis of Likert ratings, training was well received by the officers. The total number of incidents, the use of force by the officers, and battery by bodily waste all declined significantly after the first mental health training, and the total number of incidents and battery by bodily waste declined significantly after the second training. CONCLUSIONS The provision of ten hours of mental health training to correctional officers was associated with a significant decline in use of force and battery by bodily waste.