Accessibility to mental health care in prison is vital as roughly 40-50% of incarcerated persons in the United States have a history of mental illness, yet federal prisons are currently dealing with a significant shortage of mental health professionals.
Dozens of federal prison facilities reported operating at less than 50% staffing of mental health professionals in April 2025. Over 39% of psychology positions are vacant, forcing reliance on temporary, rotating staff, which eliminates continuity of care. Consequently, roughly 66% of federal inmates report receiving no mental health care at all. In at least10 prisons, there were zero to one psychologists on staff.
The lack of permanent licensed mental health staff has resulted in a reliance on rotating, temporary psychologists or, in some cases, no on-site, in-person care at all. When they are present on site, psychologists are often pulled from clinical duties to cover for shortages in custodial roles, such as in guard towers or for prisoner escorts. The shortage is compounded by a high percentage of incarcerated persons experiencing serious psychological distress and the general difficulty in recruiting mental health professionals to secure environments.
Roughly two in five incarcerated people have a mental health history, and many do not receive treatment, despite 50% of them having been on medication before incarceration. Access to care is considered a constitutional right, as The U.S. Supreme Court (Estelle v. Gamble) decision ruled that ignoring serious medical/mental health needs constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The stress of confinement, combined with lack of privacy and isolation, can trigger or worsen severe mental health issues like psychosis and depression.
Mental health services are also crucial for reducing recidivism and fostering rehabilitation. Because the vast majority of incarcerated people are eventually released, providing proper care leads to better reintegration and healthier communities and lowering chances of reoffending.
You can read more about the shortage of mental health professionals in federal prisons in “Amid ‘Catastrophic’ Shortage, Psychologists Flee Federal Prisons in Droves” at the Marshall Project website. The Marshall Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system.
