Care of the mentally ill person in a prison. Benefits that positive psychology could bring to their treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration

Abstract

The constitutional purpose of custodial sentences is the re-education and social reintegration of the convicted person. In this framework, this work presents the Framework Programme for Comprehensive Care of the Mentally Ill (PAIEM) in prisons, whose objectives are to detect, diagnose and treat mental disorders, improve the quality of life and autonomy of the inmate and optimize their social reintegration through a multidisciplinary team in which nursing plays an essential role because of its continuous contact with the inmates. The author argues how positive psychology, through concepts such as resilience, the state of flow, creativity and emotional intelligence, can complement the treatment and rehabilitation of the incarcerated mentally ill person, enhancing their strengths, improving behaviour regulation and coping with adversity, and helping to prevent relapses in substance use and destabilizations of the underlying pathology.