2 Hours / 2 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Ethical and Legal Issues in Correctional Mental Health is presented by Virginia Barber Rioja, PhD.

This badge-earning program can be shared digitally on platforms like LinkedIn or your resume and counts towards a certificate. Enroll in this program to earn credit towards the Correctional Mental Health Certificate and share your new digital credentials.

The U.S. correctional system provides significant opportunities for clinicians to contribute to the improvement of mental health care in jails and prisons. However, mental health professionals working in correctional settings are continuously exposed to complicated ethical and moral dilemmas. This is particularly true for those who see protecting the human rights of those they work with as an aim of correctional healthcare. 

The unique nature of correctional settings requires psychologists to balance the well-being of their patients and the security or safety needs of the institution. Issues of confidentiality, dual loyalty, or placement of people in punitive segregation/restrictive housing are just some examples of areas of correctional practice that raise ethical dilemmas. This program provides an overview of the ethical and moral dilemmas that arise in the correctional context, it explains why professional organizations’ ethical guidelines might not be sufficient to inform correctional mental health practice, and it provides recommendations for minimizing ethical issues and protecting human rights in correctional healthcare.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe the different ethical and moral issues that commonly arise in correctional mental health care
  • 2 Describe human rights approach to correctional healthcare
  • 3 Describe approaches to minimize and solve ethical dilemmas in correctional healthcare

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for a broad audience interested in the ethical challenges and unique considerations faced by mental health professionals in correctional settings. It is designed for clinicians, students exploring correctional or forensic mental health, and non-clinical correctional staff seeking a deeper understanding of the field. The program is also valuable for those in general mental healthcare who wish to gain insight into correctional care.

    Examples of Relevant Professionals:

    • Mental Health Professionals
    • Psychologists
    • Social Workers
    • Counselors
    • Students interested in correctional or forensic mental health
    • Correctional Officers
    • Correctional Administrators

  • Experience Level

    This training is designed for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals at various stages of experience working in correctional settings.

    • Beginner: Participants new to correctional mental health care or with limited experience in correctional settings, seeking foundational knowledge of ethical and human rights issues.

    • Intermediate: Participants with some experience in correctional mental health care who are familiar with basic ethical concepts and wish to deepen their understanding of complex dilemmas and practical strategies.

  • Practice Setting

    Practice occurs within secure, security-driven correctional environments where mental healthcare is delivered under custody oversight, constrained privacy, limited resources, and strict institutional policies. Providers balance clinical care with safety and operational mandates while addressing acute crises, ongoing treatment needs, and pervasive ethical challenges.

    Examples of Practice Settings:

    • County and municipal jails
    • State prisons
    • Federal correctional institutions
    • Juvenile detention facilities
    • Mental health or infirmary units within facilities
    • Restrictive housing/segregation units
    • Reentry or transition units inside facilities
Presented By

Virginia Barber-Rioja, PhD

Virginia Barber Rioja obtained her Ph.D. in clinical forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. For 7 years, she worked in the NYC jail system holding the positions of Co-Chief and Clinical Director of Mental Health, and Assistant Chief of Forensic Services for Correctional Health Services/NYC Health + Hospitals, which provides mental health treatment to the NYC jails and forensic assessment services to the NYC courts. She is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Psychology Department of New York University and the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology of Teachers College, Columbia University. She has over 15 years of experience working in correctional and forensic contexts, including jails, forensic hospitals and alternative to incarceration and reentry programs. She also worked as a consultant for the juvenile correctional facilities in Puerto Rico. Currently, Dr. Barber Rioja consults for the Center for Justice Innovation as a Senior Clinical Policy Advisor and maintains an independent forensic practice involving consulting, training and forensic assessment in immigration, state, and federal court cases. She is an elected Member-At-Large of the American Psychology Law Society (APLS), a board member of the Asociación Iberoamericana de Justicia Terapéutica (Iberoamerican Association of Therapeutic Jurisprudence) and a former elected member of the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Legal Issues (COLI).



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Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Introduction to Correctional Mental Health Care:
    -Briefly outline the role of mental health professionals in correctional settings.
    -Discuss the aim of protecting human rights within the constraints of a correctional environment.

  • Ethical and Moral Dilemmas in Correctional Settings - Confidentiality:
    -Challenges in maintaining confidentiality with institutional demands for information.
    -Case studies illustrating breaches and their consequences.

  • Dual Loyalty:
    -Balancing the therapeutic needs of individuals with institutional security and policy.
    -Examples of conflicts and how they impact treatment.

  • Punitive Segregation/Restrictive Housing:
    -Ethical issues around placing individuals in isolation.
    -Effects of isolation on mental health and strategies to address these issues.

  • Informed Consent:
    -Difficulties in obtaining truly informed consent in a coercive environment.
    -Strategies to ensure ethical consent processes.

  • Limitations of Professional Organizations’ Ethical Guidelines:
    -Discuss how general ethical guidelines may not fully address the complexities of correctional settings.
    -Case examples where guidelines fall short.

  • Institutional Policies:
    -How institutional policies can conflict with professional ethical standards.
    -Analysis of policy vs. ethical practice dilemmas.

  • Strategies for Minimizing Ethical Issues:
    -Introduce models specifically tailored for correctional settings.
    -Examples of how these models can be applied.

  • Institutional Advocacy:
    -Approaches for advocating for policies that support ethical practice and human rights.

  • Training and Support:
    -The importance of ongoing training and supervision.
    -Creating support networks for professionals dealing with ethical dilemmas.
    -Support groups for correctional mental health professionals.

Earning a Certificate

This is a badge-earning program, which means it will help you earn a certificate that can be showcased on digital platforms like LinkedIn.
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CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).

Sponsorship Approval Statements

Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7190. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Palo Alto University, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Palo Alto University maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits. Continuing and Professional Studies, Palo Alto University, is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0103. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies, is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073.