ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide practitioners with practical ideas on how to promote mental health in prisons and Young Offenders Institutions, providing some working principles for practitioners and drawing on lessons learned from research and existing examples of good practice. Men in prison are a vulnerable group in society, with many having been subjected to a lifetime of social exclusion. The importance of promoting positive mental health in prisons and not just promoting the absence of mental illness is crucially important. While it may be difficult to imagine positive mental health among prisoners, prison should provide an opportunity for individuals to be helped towards a sense of personal development without harming themselves or others. Mental health promotion is a key agenda for prisons, highlighted in the Prison Service Order for health promotion and by the World Health Organization. Contact with family and friends is an important source of support and should be promoted to encourage positive mental health.
